Friday, July 31, 2009

DSA E-News #98 August 2009

Hello Songwriter,

THERE IS NO 2ND TUESDAY MONTHLY MEETING.

Hey, I'm just trying to stay cool. The end of July found me with my friends in a cabin in the Smokey Mountains near Gatlinburg, TN. I also stayed at a friends house near Franklin a couple of nights. I had lunch at the historic landmark, Dobson's, ordering from Wynona Judd's autographed menu. I was lucky enough to meet some friends, former DSA President, Ron Grimes and former DSA director, Kerry Ford at the new Listening Room in downtown Nashville which recently moved from Franklin. What a treat to hear the hit songs sung by the songwriting brothers Chip (the creator and leading member of the popular recording group Mannheim Steamroller) and Billy Davis, and joined on a couple of songs by their sisters on harmony. http://chipdavisworld.com/. Also performing was Dove Award-winning producer, Paul Johnson. Before heading off to the Smokeys we stopped off a night in Murfreesboro to attend the National Drum Corp Competition at the college stadium. My peep, Bill Woods, former judge and corps director, was my host and he filled me in on all the details of judging. The music arrangements for the corps routines are unique to this event and I was fortunate to meet Bill's arranger friend, Jay Dawson, Arrangers Publishing Company, at an italian dinner before the event.

I will again teach Songwriting I & II on the Preston Ridge Campus of Collin College next fall on Mondays. Songwriting I which covers Writing Better Lyrics, Melody writing, and song demos will be 7-9:45PM and Songwriting II which covers the biz of songwriting, plus advanced song crafting will be 3-6PM. Both classes will also included instruction in song demos using Garageband software, which you will have access to in the well equipped music lab on campus. You can access the school website at: ccccd.edu

Our next DSA event is the OPEN MIC on Thursday, August 20th at Dunn Brothers Coffee.

The Buzz is that there may be a Southwest Folk Alliance event in DFW next spring.

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. STAY COOL.

Songcerely,
Barbe McMillen
Founding President Emeritus
----------

1. 2008 SONG CONTEST - WINNERS ANNOUNCED

We are 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
WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Our Concert was Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday May 23rd at the Neotropolis in the North Carrollton area. The Black Doves with lead singer and our grand prize winner, Capt. Steve Wilson was our awesome headliner. Also. winner Jill Charles performed a super rendition of the National Anthem and her winning song, among others.
Anna Terry and Bob Paterno also performed between sets in the cafe.

The Cd of the 2008 winning songs, Songs From the Soul of Service Vol. 2 released for public sales at the concert and is now available online at: http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=7TE_LIVE&page=SSS4

Produced by The Dallas Songwriters Association,
Songs From The Soul of Service Committee:
William Brown, Phd, Committee Chair
Barbara McMillen, Cd Production
Jose Volante, Mike Dawson, Lisa Lazo, Joni Ringo, Nancy Rynders, Bob Paterno, Buck Morgan, Steve Sullivan, Chris Liddiard & Kevin Sproul

Mastered at Dyer Sound Lab by Don Ashley, Dallas, TX, dashley at texasmusicgroup.com
Art Direction, Graphic Layout and Design by Chris Liddiard, Chris at bottomlinedesign.co.uk
Insert printed at PostNet, North Dallas, TX, tx191@postnet.com
Duplication by Crystal Clear, Dallas, Tx, cdr at crystalclearstudios.com
Cds and jewel cases provided by WM Sales 800-836-7745
Special Thanks to Ross Vick for Production on "We'll Be Together"
ross at truehearttexas.com

Thanks to our sponsors: TexasVFW.org, Gaylord Texan, Broadjam.com, Don Ashley, Bottomlinedesign.co.uk, Crystal Clear Sound, WM Sales, Ross Vick & Chase Bank

Thanks to our judges : Lawrence Gelburd, Blake Milton, Sir Earl Toon, Barbara Farkas, Mark Menza, Steve Weingart & Mitch Paliga.
Thanks to our screeners: Mary Dawson, Ducado Vega, Mathew JC, Michael Gott, and Greg Dugan.

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

NO MEETING IN AUGUST

Planned 2008 Speakers

SEPT: Producers Mark & Mike Stitts aerialdigitalmedia.com

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 Workshop
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/workshops/workshopframe.htm
FIRST MONDAY – We had a great meeting with James Pappas coordinating. We're scheduled at this venue through the end of the year.
White Rock Coffee in East Dallas. http://www.wrcoffee.com/

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 and one in Plano, coordinated by Anna Terry.

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 - Thurs. July 16
EVERY 3RD THURSDAY - 7:00pm to 9:00pm


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

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

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 - Cordinator Song Swap Workshop
* We need someone to coordinate the Monday SongSwap at the White Rock Coffee while Annie is on hiatus.
Vacant - Librarian, workshops
Vacant - Monthly Meeting Critiques
* We need someone to run 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: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
JULY: Mary Guthie renewed
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&&
-------------------------------------------------------

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.)

Tarrant County College - Seminar in Vocal Pedagogy
Learn multiple solutions for common problems in vocal technique. ... Seminar in Vocal Pedagogy. Seminar in Vocal Pedagogy with Joan Wall. ...
web.tccd.net/x5268.xm

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


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

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/

AUG
1-2 Los Angeles World Guitar Show Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
1-4 Ultimate Songwriters Workshop, Ozark Mountains
8 SONGWRITER GIRL ONE DAY CAMP-MUSIC ROW, NASHVILLE, TN
8 Songwriter Connection Workshop Lufkin Tx
20-23 Indie Girl Conference, Nashville, TN
23 “Pickin’ for the Record” at Luckenbach Texas
26-30th Cutting Edge Music Business Conference, New Orleans

SEPT
4-6 Kerrville Wine & Music Festival, Kerrville, Tx
14 North Texas music meeting at Dallas Public Library
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
29-30 Billboard Film & TV Conference, Hollywood, CA
25- Nov 1 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat Ireland

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/
---------------

9. Featured Articles:

Three Things to Consider When Hiring A Music Producer by Lonnie Ratliff

Recording your music can be expensive and it is always important. With this in mind you need to make sure you treat recording your next CD like you were buying a used car. It is more important than a car because even if you end up with a good used car in a few years it will be worn out and nothing more than a memory. A new CD on the other hand will be here forever and your grandchildren will play it and say this is my Grandpa or Grandma and this is the legacy of music they left the world. You sure want to do as good a job as time and money permits because more than anything, except perhaps your children, this CD represents who you are. I always tell artists that you don't get an extra track on the CD to explain all of its shortcomings. If you decide you are gonna cut some mediocre song because a friend wrote it or someone is helping you pay for the CD that is OK as long as you understand that no one but you will know that in the future. The listeners will just assume you didn't know the difference between good and bad so think about that when you are making your decisions.

I will not dwell on the shysters in this business too much because I can talk til I am blue in the face and there are still going to be some artists who, if someone who claims to be in the music business tells them they sound like the next Alan Jackson or Carrie Underwood, are going to just write them a $20 or $30 thousand dollar check and then spend the rest of their lives complaining about how they went to Nashville and got cheated out of their money. I have no interest in working with artists that gulliable anyway because even if I cut a hit CD on them they would eventually end up getting cheated out of it or giving it away because didn't use the same basic precautions they would have if they were buying a used car.

Here's a check list that you need to go through before you write a check to any producer. I will use my own information because I know you can scrutinize it all you want to (which you should) and you will not find any questionable business practices. You can just ask these same questions to the next producer who "discovers you" and wants to make you a star.

1. The very first thing is do a simple GOOGLE search. Use their name followed by the word music. Example
Lonnie Ratliff Music into search engine www.Google.com

2. You need to listen to something they have produced so you know if their style of production will fit your music. I have samples of songs I have produced loaded up on my MYSPACE website http://www.myspace.com/nashvillerecordproducer

3. Who have they worked with before. This is important for a couple of reasons. You can contact the artists and ask them questions or just listen to the artist and figure out if the producer just took their money knowing they didn't have a snowball's chance in hell. This is one reason a lot of these fly by night operators never talk about the last CD they cut. They are ashamed to have their name on it.
If you cut a CD with someone you know nothing about then you are probably going to join that group who spend the rest of their lives complaining about going to Nashville and getting cheated out of their money. I try to keep an updated list of the artists I have produced on this website so artists interested in working with me can check them out http://members6.boardhost.com/SongReviews/


If you take the time to follow through on the three things above then the odds of you being cheated go way down. Remember that ever Producer in the music business has a track record and if you are paying them money you have every right in the world to know about it.
If you feel uncomfortable about working with someone there's probably a reson. Listen to that little voice.

Lonnie Ratliff NashvilleShowcase at comcast.net

MUSIC BUSINESS


Behind the Music: Who Needs Major Labels These Days? By Helienne Lindvall

Unsigned acts such as the Boxer Rebellion and Ani DiFranco prove it's possible to launch an international career independently - but it requires savvy management and a strong work ethic. more __

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

CRAFT OF SONGWRITING

Verse Development by Pat Pattison

In its simplest form, this is the basic rule of songwriting: keep your listener interested all the way through your song. Get them with you from the beginning with a strong opening line, then keep them with you the rest of the way. Whether they stay or go is up to you.

Your verses are responsible for keeping listeners interested. They develop your idea; they are the basic tool to advance your concept, plot, or story. They get us ready to hear the chorus -- they control the angle of entry and the way we see the chorus. Like the paragraphs of an essay, each one should focus on a separate idea.

It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about cars, rhyme schemes, architecture, or lyrics. more____

--from Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure, by Pat Pattison, Copyright 2001 Berklee Press
You can purchase this book at http://www.patpattison.com

Online Thesaurus & Rhyming Dictionary

http://www.rhymezone.com/

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

10. Song Contests

http://songcontests.blogspot.com/

GREAT AMERICAN SONG CONTEST Deadline Oct 30
GREAK LAKES SONGWRITING CONTEST Deadline Sept 1
SONG DOOR: Deadline Nov. 15th
The 9th Annual Independent Music Awards Deadline: Aug 21st
John Lennon Song Contest
USA Songwriting Contest
TOCRA


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

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



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

Monday, July 6, 2009

DSA E-News #97 July 2009

Hello Songwriter,

I hope everyone had just as much fun as I did on the 4th weekend. I watched the fireworks from the Spring Creek Campus of Collin College in Plano after spending a day performing two patriotic gigs and swimming in the pool with my family.

I will again teach Songwriting I & II on the Preston Ridge Campus of Collin College next fall on Mondays. Songwriting I which covers Writing Better Lyrics, Melody writing, and song demos will be 7-9:45PM and Songwriting II which covers the biz of songwriting, plus advanced song crafting will be 3-6PM. Both classes will also included instruction in song demos using Garageband software, which you will have access to in the well equipped music lab on campus. You can access the school website at: ccccd.edu

We now have 4 DSA monthly events. The Hot Iron venue closed and Steve has cancelled the Filling Station & Varsity Grill showcases. James Foster is looking at a venue change for the SongSwap Workshop.

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
----------

1. 2008 SONG CONTEST - WINNERS ANNOUNCED

We are 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
WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Our Concert was Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday May 23rd at the Neotropolis in the North Carrollton area. The Black Doves with lead singer and our grand prize winner, Capt. Steve Wilson was our awesome headliner. Also. winner Jill Charles performed a super rendition of the National Anthem and her winning song, among others.
Anna Terry and Bob Paterno also performed between sets in the cafe.

The Cd of the 2008 winning songs, Songs From the Soul of Service Vol. 2 released for public sales at the concert and is now available online at: http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=7TE_LIVE&page=SSS4

Produced by The Dallas Songwriters Association,
Songs From The Soul of Service Committee:
William Brown, Phd, Committee Chair
Barbara McMillen, Cd Production
Jose Volante, Mike Dawson, Lisa Lazo, Joni Ringo, Nancy Rynders, Bob Paterno, Buck Morgan, Steve Sullivan, Chris Liddiard & Kevin Sproul

Mastered at Dyer Sound Lab by Don Ashley, Dallas, TX, dashley at texasmusicgroup.com
Art Direction, Graphic Layout and Design by Chris Liddiard, Chris at bottomlinedesign.co.uk
Insert printed at PostNet, North Dallas, TX, tx191@postnet.com
Duplication by Crystal Clear, Dallas, Tx, cdr at crystalclearstudios.com
Cds and jewel cases provided by WM Sales 800-836-7745
Special Thanks to Ross Vick for Production on "We'll Be Together"
ross at truehearttexas.com

Thanks to our sponsors: TexasVFW.org, Gaylord Texan, Broadjam.com, Don Ashley, Bottomlinedesign.co.uk, Crystal Clear Sound, WM Sales, Ross Vick & Chase Bank

Thanks to our judges : Lawrence Gelburd, Blake Milton, Sir Earl Toon, Barbara Farkas, Mark Menza, Steve Weingart & Mitch Paliga.
Thanks to our screeners: Mary Dawson, Ducado Vega, Mathew JC, Michael Gott, and Greg Dugan.

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

DSA Monthly Guest Speaker & Song Critiques
- Every Second Tuesday, except Aug.

 at the Center for Community Cooperation, 2900 Live Oak, Dallas

 Map & Directions http://www.cccdfw.org/pages/location.html
The next meeting is Tuesday, July 14th.

Program: Guest Speaker_ JOHN NITZINGER

Planned 2008 Speakers

NO MEETING IN AUGUST

SEPT: Producers Mark & Mike Stitts aerialdigitalmedia.com

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 Workshop
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/workshops/workshopframe.htm
FIRST MONDAY – Aug3rd, 7-9
White Rock Coffee in East Dallas. http://www.wrcoffee.com/

WE MAY BE CHANGING THE VENUE. CHECK THE CALENDAR.
-----------------------

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

OPEN MICS
DUNN BROTHERS COFFEE HOUSE - Thurs. July 16
EVERY 3RD THURSDAY - 7:00pm to 9:00pm


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

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

6. MEMBER NEWS -

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

* Artist/Producer 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

* Cheep and free tickets

There are three committee seats open.
Vacant - Cordinator Song Swap Workshop
* We need someone to coordinate the Monday SongSwap at the White Rock Coffee while Annie is on hiatus.
Vacant - Librarian, workshops
Vacant - Monthly Meeting Critiques
* We need someone to run 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: Michael Fredde, Josh Goldberg, Kevin Sullivan, & Butch Schindel
THANK YOU FOR RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP:Buck Morgan, Craig St Clair, Jackie Doss, John Tracy Wilson & Kathy Nichols

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

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.)

GARY NICHOLSON WORKSHOP - Wed. June 24th

About Gary Nicholson: http://www.garynicholson.com

I'm sorry if you missed the great workshop Gary gave us. We had a full room. You can view comments, photos, and video of the workshop here:

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


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

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.

JULY
Dallas Public Library - Various events throughout the month
Music Legend Dave Bartholomew Rocks Old Town Mesquite every other Sat
11 Austin Songwriters Workshop with Music Publisher
12-17 Reo Songwriting Retreat, Vancouver, BC
12-18 Skip Ewing's Horse & Rider "Invitational" Songwriters Workshop
17-19 Summer NAMM Nashville, TN
19-23 Music Camp For Teens, Quiet Valley Ranch, Kerrville, Tx
25-26 Bay Area World Guitar Show, Marin Civic/San Rafael

AUG
1-2 Los Angeles World Guitar Show Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
1-4 Ultimate Songwriters Workshop, Ozark Mountains
8 SONGWRITER GIRL ONE DAY CAMP-MUSIC ROW, NASHVILLE, TN
8 Songwriter Connection Workshop Lufkin Tx
20-23 Indie Girl Conference, Nashville, TN
23 “Pickin’ for the Record” at Luckenbach Texas
26-30th Cutting Edge Music Business Conference, New Orleans

SEPT
4-6 Kerrville Wine & Music Festival, Kerrville, Tx
14 North Texas music meeting at Dallas Public Library
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/
29-30 Billboard Film & TV Conference, Hollywood, CA
25- Nov 1 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat Ireland

JAN
10-17 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat California Sequoias

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/
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9. Featured Articles:

MUSIC BUSINESS


Free vs Freely Distributed
By Mark Cuban -- With the publication of Chris Anderson's new book "Free," the discussion about the role of free, today and in the future has expanded. Articles from Malcom Gladwell in New Yorker, and Seth Godin discuss the various merits and challenges of Free. Is Free inevitable? Is Free the beginning of the end? Let me answer the question..

http://blogmaverick.com/2009/06/30/free-vs-freely-distributed/

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

CRAFT OF SONGWRITING

Building The Perfect Beast: Form Follows Function
by Pat Pattison
"OhMyGod Artie, stop!" yells Herbie. Artie’s ‘69 VW microbus wobbles over to the side of the road, next to a creame and baby blue Maserati convertible parked in the lot. "Boy, I’d like to drive that beauty. Looks like it really flies." Whew," whistles Artie " Look at it, low, wide wheel base, scooped front, rear foil. Definitely built for speed." A physicist or aeronautical engineer could give a more precise description, but Artie and Herbie have it nailed anyway. As much as they love Artie’s Microbus, they know it won’t win any races, because it isn’t built for speed. But that Maserati sure could. Intuitively, they apply the principle, form follows function. If you asked them the right questions, they’d be able to describe the two ways this principle works:

1. When you look at an individual car, you can figure out figure out its what it's built to do (function) by its design (form). Conversely, when you build a car, you figure out its design by what you want it to do. If you want a race car, build it heavy, wide and lower in front than in back so the wind will press it towards the track. If you want an economy car, build it light and shape it to cut wind resistance. This is called the principle of prosody.

2. When you look at two cars, you see whether they’re different or the same. When they're the same design, they should have the same function. When they have different designs , they should have different functions. This is the principle of contrast.

It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about cars, rhyme schemes, architecture, or lyrics. more____

--from Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure, by Pat Pattison, Copyright 2001 Berklee Press
You can purchase this book at http://www.patpattison.com

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
GREAK LAKES SONGWRITING CONTEST Deadline Sept 1
SONG DOOR: Deadline Nov. 15th
The 9th Annual Independent Music Awards Deadline: Aug 21st
John Lennon Song Contest
USA Songwriting Contest
TOCRA


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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



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