Wednesday, December 29, 2010

DSA E-News #115, Jan. 2011

Hello Songwriter,

I'm looking forward to a great 2011 and enjoying my winter break from teaching. Some of my students from Collin College performed at the Allen Library at the end of the semester. They were great! We now have all of the video clips on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/commercialmusic .  Classes begin again on January 18th. I have three songwriting classes this semester:
M-W 4 -5:15 Spring Creek Campus
M 7 - 9:45 Preston Ridge Campus
W 7 - 9:45 Spring Creek Campus


Dallas Songwriters is on Facebook. Go on Facebook and LIKE us.

Give Me A Break is playing at the ArtCentre Theater in Plano the last two weeks in March 2011. We are casting right now. I will be musical director and Charles Ballinger will be directing.  We are looking for talented young people to cast the band, Pulsar5, the main characters in the band. Also, we need technical help, a choreographer, assistant director, sound and light design, etc. More details here: http://drippingtalentprod.blogspot.com.

HELP A STUDENT OUT: Take the survey http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FFG3YHK


"My name is Celeste Debro, a conflict management graduate student at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN, and I would like to conduct a PRO survey with the members or subscribers belonging to your organization to get more information on how they recognize conflict and if mediation could become a larger option for dispute resolution within the music industry.  I feel as though this survey is very instrumental in understanding how different approaches could be brought about within the music industry for handling conflict. This survey is the start of my externship, and if allowed I would love to devote some of my hours, free of charge, to your organization based on the results of this survey.  This survey is electronic and the results would come directly to me.  If you would like to see the survey, or if you would like more information please do not hesitate to contact me. If you cannot assist me with this request, please refer me to someone who is able to do so. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Celeste D. Debro "
Conflict Management Student
Lipscomb University

Yeah! The song contest is finally underway. Thank you for your patience and inquiries. We are open for entries through March 31.

Not a DSA member? Then you've missed the musings via our member yahoo group of our DSA Prez, Buck Morgan. Catch up with what's going on here: http://dsaprezsez.blogspot.com/

QUICK LOOK CALENDAR OF DSA MONTHLY EVENTS - put this in your bookmark.
Happy New Year
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1. ANNUAL SONG CONTEST - Deadline March 31.


Dallas Songwriters Association 2011 Song Contest

Now in its 21st year, The DSA 2011 Song Contest is one of the longest running international song contests for amateur songwriters. Offering over $5,000 in cash and prizes this year, the DSA has EIGHT categories in all. See Contest Rules for eligibility. Accepting Submissions 12/15/2010 through 3/31/2011. Pick your category and enter today! 
  • Country
  • Pop/Rock/R&B/Alternative
  • Americana/Folk/Bluegrass
  • Christian/Inspirational
  • Love Songs/Easy Listening
  • Children's/Novelty
  • Singer-Songwriter
  • Instrumental

    Click here for more info about this contest, and for more information about joining DSA (membership not required to enter contest).

    Click here to view a list of frequently asked questions. 

2009-10 SONG CONTEST - 
Winners were announced April 15 on the website and at the Dallas International guitar show.
See John Nitzinger and Tradition Guitars presenting the grand prize at the show.

See the press release on the song contest winners:

Get a hard copy of the April issue of Songwriters Notes with a list of winners and read about grand prize winner, Lanny Sherwin.

See the winners, be sure to scroll to the bottom for Roy Elkins comments on the cream of the crop.

Semifinalists were posted on the song contest website on March 15th.

Mimi Balkey won the drawing for the ipod.

THANKS TO TRADITION GUITARS FOR GENEROUSLY DONATING THE GUITAR TO OUR GRAND PRIZE WINNER.

2008 SONG CONTEST - WINNERS

See past 2008 winners.

Here 2008 winning songs in a series of three podcasts at:
2008 SEMIFINALISTS

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2. DSA MEETINGS - Jan. 11 - 

What do you want from DSA in 2011?
    Members and Directors brainstorm. Can't attend the meeting? Email your thoughts about DSA programs and activities and we will read them to the group for discussions. Directors will take these ideas to the January planning meeting.


Free to Members
$5 for visitors

Sign in and Networking begins at 6:30
Announcements at 7PM
Program about 7:30
Song Critiques follow - Members only may enter for $5

Future Programs:
Feb: David Banning
March: Tom Prasada-Rao
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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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MONDAY SONG SWAPS for peer critique
Song Swap Workshops
Monthly 7:30-10 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 in East Dallas
Half Price Books, 5803 E Northwest Hwy Dallas, TX 75231-6519 (214) 379-8000
Roger Russell, Jame Pappas coordinating.
We'll be in the Community Room at the back left in the building.

THIRD MONDAY in PLANO -
Tino's at Collin Creek Mall- Steve Sullivan, coordinator.
Tinos Mexican Restaurant Collin Creek Mall, Plano, Tx 972 2572
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3. SHOWCASES AND OPEN MICS -

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

TEXAS SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND at  Hard Eight Cafe in Brady
 "2nd Saturday" if anyone can join us please do.
Hard Eight Cafe 6-9PM All original All the Time.
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4. LYRIC CONTEST - Next deadline postmarked December 31th or enter online.

SUMMER 2010 WINNERS ANNOUNCED

SEMIFINALISTS

BLUE CRAYONS WRITE THE BEST by Mario Spinosa, Eynon, PA

NOW SON, TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY by Melina Barnett, Moreton in Marsh, UK

FLY FREE by Butch Schindel, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

ZEKE by Ron Walthall, Combine, Tx

WINNERS POSTED ON THE WEBSITE. See the lyrics.

LYRICISTS GAIN RECOGNITION THROUGH COMPETITION
Next Lyric Contest Deadline is March 30th, 2010 for Spring Lyric Contest
Entry fee is $10
Please see lyric contest webpage for details.

April 2010 Hardcopy issue of Songwriters Notes has Summer & Fall 2009 winners posted.

October 2009 Hardcopy issue of Songwriters Notes has Fall 2008 & winter/spring 2009 Lyric contest winning songs listed:
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5. MEMBER NEWS -
The 2011 Board of Directors were elected at our November Membership Meeting. We'll be meeting in January to plan for the year.







Wanna get involved? Become a committee member. It's fun!
To view a list of the 2011 Officer and Directors and Committees go to this link:
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 - Free tickets to selected Winspear Opera House events.

Lyricists are invited to co-write with music writers by submitting your lyric through the member yahoo group.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: Robin Hughes, Larry Dodge, Tonye Scott, Joe Milton, Shelby Cook, Mina Shamsa, Robert Montgomery, Tracy Merchant, Jan Osborne, Tim Schramm, Kevin Mountcastle, Brent Benton, Pru Gilmore, Timberly Padden won a fee membership in the guitar show drawing.. Tim Phillips, Pru Potter, Joanna Endley, Robert Tenorio, and song contest winners Ward Parker, Eric Christensen, Chris Trentham, Scott Tonkinson, Lisa Torres, Noel Cohen, David Spence, Edward Turton, Lauren Smith, Lanny Sherwin, John Watilo Louie Cate, Claire Ulanoff, Karyna Cruz, Peter Bacsalmasi, Bernadette Conant, Roger Kaye, Matt Dahan, Dom Stasi, Sinem Varoglu, John Visconti, Jaime Leopold,

THANK YOU FOR RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP: Mimi Balkey, Jason Winford, Morri Hartgraves, Roger Russell, Nancy Rynders, Donna Scoggins. Ken Golden, Brook Malouf, Bill Honker, Scott Fant, Ed Willians, Tom ThomasTrevor Dahen, Butch Schindel, Bob Paterno, Ian Dickson, Jackie Doss, Mary Guthrie, CB Luce

TIME TO RENEW: The following members owe dues:


YOU HAVE A TWO MONTH GRACE PERIOD TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP OR YOU WILL BE DROPPED FROM THE MEMBER GROUP

JULY: Michael Fredde, Dave Dalton, Dave Sanchez
SEPT: Don Wall
OCT: Reagan Redfern, Morri Hartgraves, Paul Penrod, Billy Roberson, George Ross, Rod Ballou, Stephen Blackwell, Curtis Goho, Erick Bunch, Robert Charles
NOV: Jose Cantu, Michael Roth, Cheryl Anderson, Justin Marler
DEC: Jeff Sharp, Genell Kelso, Michael Brandon and Krystal Pinkins. 
PLEASE RENEW THIS MONTH: Sharon Pisors, Nathan Alan Toon, Baylee Kuss, Adrienne Weitzel
Renew your membership online,
You'll find the link to the store on the panel to the right
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6. WORKSHOPS - DSA WORKSHOPS ARE SPONSORED BY BMI
(Each month we have a workshop at our monthly meeting on the 1st Monday, 3rd Monday and 2nd Tuesday. see item 3 above.) http://www.meetingblog.dallassongwriters.org

Kim Copeland returns on Feb 20th for a songwriter's recording workshop. Details and location TBA.



PLAY FOR PUBLISHERS WORKSHOP - writers who want to get songs recorded in the Nashville Country market are invited to apply now for this workshop hosted by Barbara Cloyd. Sixteen writers will be chosen to present their songs to six publishers who come, two at a time, to listen to songs and give feedback. It will be held at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville Feb 24 - 26. Application deadline is Jan 17th. For complete details, visit www.barbaracloyd.com .

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7. EVENTSFeaturing local and worldwide events of the songwriting community including, seminars, conferences, and showcases.


JAN 2011
11 Jason Blume Songwriting Workshop, Nashville http://www.bmi.com/events/entry/548313
13-16 ASG Symposium www.austinsongwritersgroup.com
22-23 Steve Seskin Songcrafting Seminar, Nashville, Tn
22 - 26 Midem, Cannes, France  http://www.midem.com

FEB
16-20 Folk Alliance, Memphis, TN http://www.folkalliance.org/
13 Grammy Awards, LA  http://www.grammy.com
14-16 New Music Seminar, LA http://newmusicseminar.com
20 Kim Copeland Workshop
24-26 Play For Publishers  www.barbaracloyd.com

MARCH
9-13 Canadian Music Week, Toronto, CAN http://canadianmusicfest.com/
16-20 SXSW, Austin, Tx http://sxsw.com/
18 - 27 Barbara's Musical, GIVE ME A BREAK, ArtCentre Theater, Plano

APRIL
15-17 Guitar Show, Dallas http://www.guitarshow.com
28-30 ASCAP I Create Music EXPO http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/events/expo/
29 - May 1  Jazz Fest, New Orleans, http://www.nojazzfest.com/

MAY
5-8 Jazz Fest, New Orleans, http://www.nojazzfest.com/
20-22 Wildflower Fest, Richardson, http://www.wildflowerfestival.com/

TEXAS CONCERT LISTINGS

Comprehensive VENUE LIST - compliments of Uncle Calvins

DALLAS TEXAS CONCERT LISTINGS

Dallas Morning News Guide Live Music Listing ( hit search after opening the page)
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8. Featured Articles:
PREZ SEZ: Tune in to DSA President, Buck Morgan's, musings and DSA goings on.

WATCH: 8-Year-Old Gospel Star Rhema Marvanne (VIDEO)
By Sunnychanel -- Amazing is a word being freely associated with Rhema Marvanne. Not just for her rendition of Amazing Grace that has had almost 2 million views on YouTube (with all her songs adding up to over 18 million views), rather ‘amazing' is the adjective most used in describing her talent, which is stunning for someone so young.



MUSIC BUSINESS



The Virtual Tour
By Apryl Peredo -- To successfully promote your music you need to be able to influence potential listeners from all across the web. A new and potentially effective method of increasing the recognition of your music, influencing new listeners and spreading the awareness of you, as a band or musician, is to set up a virtual tour.

Dylan's Handwritten Lyrics to Sell in NYC
AP -- Bob Dylan's original handwritten lyrics for "The Times are A-Changin'" are heading for the auction block in New York City. They could sell for an estimated $200,000 to $300,000.

Rare Copy of 'The Star Spangled Banner' Going on the Auction Block
Scripps Media -- A rare copy of 'The Star Spangled Banner' printed in Baltimore is expected to sell for $300,000.



A Sample Music Business Plan
By Kevin English -- ... Every time I sit down to write another music business plan I think about all of the starving artists out there who have failed to see the value in the business planning process. There are all sorts of books out there telling people not to plan. I personally don't understand that concept at all. ...planning a business is much more intricate than planning your personal life.



Justin Bieber Swears Off YouTube For Facebook, Unwittingly Steps In Copyright Minefield
By Oliver Chiang -- Over the past weekend, Internet pop sensation Justin Bieber went to upload the music video of his new song called "Pray" to his personal YouTube site. He was in for a rude surprise: YouTube automatically blocked his video upload on "copyright grounds" that the video contained content from Universal Music Group (UMG), parent company to Bieber's record label, Island Def Jam records


Bob Paterno's blog Making Music Making Money

Glossary of Terms Used in the Music Industry
Compiled by Mario F. Gonzalez, Esq.

CRAFT OF SONGWRITING
Barbe McMillen's blog, The Craft of Songwriting

LITERARY DEVICES - Part 2 Similes
Let's look at some tools and formulas help you build similes.

Online Thesaurus and Rhyming Dictionary



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9. Song and Talent Contests
See contest details at:
A comprehensive list of Song Contests compliments of MusesMuse.com
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10. Songwriting Resources
Links to websites about songwriting, performance, music industry.

DSA Book Store - reviews, links, lists of recommended reading, and what's in the DSA Library.
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11. BEST SONGS of the 2nd Tuesday Meeting
JAN 2010
Man Card by Brooke Malouf
By Myself by Nancy Rynders
FEB
This Love by Bob Paterno
MARCH MADNESS - no critiques this month
APRIL Co-writes - no critiques this month
MAY
I Tell My Heart by Vern Dailey and Amber Dotson
JUNE
Loves Gonna Change Your Mind by Vern Dailey and Clay Potter
Will You Save A Drowning Man by Nancy Rynders
JULY
Worth Every Penny by Michael Brandenberger
SEPT
Blue Side of the Red River by Vern Dailey
Hero Where It Counts by Brooke Malouf
OCT
I Know by Brook Malouf
Kiss Me and Make Me Better by Nancy Rynders
NOV
The Checker at Counter Nine by Nancy Rynders and Vern Dailey

Whiskey Wins by Donna Scoggins





Read about 2009 Songwriter of the Year, Vern Dailey:  http://dsapress.blogspot.com/2010/08/legend-in-his-own-time.html

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 and R reps from labels and music publishers are listening to our Myspace page each month?

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

Did you know???  DSA held two song contests for active military and the Cds of the winning songs, Songs From the Soul of Service Vols. 1 and 2 are available online at:http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=7TE_LIVE&page=SSS4

Tribute to our fallen soldiers from DFW at our Podomatic site:
You Know Me Tribute to Fallen
Read the latest story about this years winners
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DSA depends on your support.

Giving Rocks!

While it never hurts to remind you that DSA is a non-profit organization (and so 
your contributions are tax-deductible) -  this year it means so much more. We're proud to be celebrating our 20th Anniversary as a non-profit. DSA has been an organized songwriter group since 1985 and became a non-profit in 1990.

Your gift enables us to meet our mission:
MISSION STATEMENT

We exist to enhance the overall personal growth and professionalism of our members through the following means:

• Provide a practical and realistic orientation for songwriters/artists on common standards and expectations of the music industry.
• Sharpen required competencies for excelling in the song writing profession.
• Serve as a forum for networking among peers and with industry experts to generate career opportunities.
• Serve as a non-political advocate for songwriters and performers in a liaison with peer organizations throughout the country.

Our programs created to meet our mission goals are: a monthly newsletter, workshops, critique sessions, showcases, contests, networking opportunities and community service.
If you like what we do, and want to help us keep doing it, please make a contribution today. Gifts of all sizes are meaningful and appreciated.

Donations are welcome year round. 
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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,
Songwriter Notes
Founding President Emeritus, DSA