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
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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

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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/

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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?

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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/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.
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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
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

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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
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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&&
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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.)
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/
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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/


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
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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/

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10. Song Contests

http://songcontests.blogspot.com/

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


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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/

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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?

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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