Monday, July 1, 2013

Songwriters Notes E-News #144 July 2013


Hello Songwriter,

The "Dog Days of Summer" are fast approaching. Hope you are having some summer fun and staying cool. That's exactly what we were doing at our DSA Pool Party last Saturday. 

The Dallas Songwriters Song Contest has closed.  We are in the judging process.Thanks to our new sponsor, Casio, the Grand Prize winner will get a Privia Piano.  Wow, what a great keyboard and one of you lucky winners will get it!
Everyone brought guitars to the last 2nd Tuesday meeting. We discussed chord progressions and  enjoyed sharing and playing many key chord progressions. Here is the progression that we ended the meeting playing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOlDewpCfZQ Don't miss Kathy Baldwin on song placement speaking on July 9th.

NO 2ND TUESDAY MEETING IN AUGUST.

 There will be no Open Mic at Half Price Books on 1st Thursday which falls on the 4th. Our other regular DSA monthly events remain the same 1st and 3rd Monday SongSwaps and  3rd Thursday Open Mic.  For details, see #2 and #4 below.

I'll be teaching songwriting classes at Collin College next fall. We have lots of fun in the class and explore the craft of popular songwriting. Here are the details.   Classes online.


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Help DSA today at no cost to you.

DSA has enrolled in a new program at BBVA Compass Bank. You can help DSA earn money by opening a Compass account and give Dallas Songwriters as your reason or if you already have a Compass account, go to your bank and connect to our program and use your check card.

COMPASS FOR YOUR CAUSE
No checks to write. No direct mail. No telemarketing. In other words, no hassles. The Compass For Your Cause Program allows your members to support your organization, by doing something many of them do virtually every day—use their check card for everyday purchases. And it's easy for them to get started. They simply:
  • Open a BBVA Compass Checking Account*
  • Open a Compass Visa® Check Card*
  • Sign for purchases using the Check Card
That's all there is to it. When they open an account, you earn a royalty of $50. Every time they use their Check Card for qualifying purchases††, you earn additional royalties. So start earning money the easy way with the Compass For Your Cause program. Contact us today to get started.


Check out our pictures on the Dallas Songwriters Facebook. Go on Facebook and LIKE us. New, tell your firends about Dallas Songwriters on Meetup.

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



1. ANNUAL SONG CONTEST -   Closed - In judging process


                 2013 Dallas Songwriters Song Contest
Now in its 23rd year, The DSA 2013 Song Contest is one of the longest running international song contests for amateur songwriters. Over $5,000 in cash and prizes.

Grand Prize is a Casio Privia Piano
and a Nashville recording session at Bieard Music Group. Many more prizes and cash prizes in each category.


Eight Song Categories
1. Christian/Inspirational
2. Country
3. Americana/Folk/Bluegrass
4. Pop/Rock/RnB/Alternative
5. Love Songs/Easy Listening
6. Children's/Novelty
7. Singer/Songwriter (songwriter is the performer)
8. Instrumental

Multiple Winners In Each Category
Entry Fee $25
Deadline: Monday, June 17th, 2013
Submissions Close at Midnight. 

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2012 GRAND PRIZE WINNER
Just Me and You by Macy Medford, Jonathan George, Houston, TX

Here the song on ReverbNation

Check out her website:

READ INTERVIEW with Macy by Roger Russell

1ST RUNNER UP
That Old Shirt by Steve Chizmadia, Peekskill, NY

2ND RUNNER UP
You'll Be Back by Debra M. Gussin, Jonathan Bluth, LA, CA
Macy with Grand Prize Taylor Guitar signed by Beth Nielsen Chapman, donated by our Prez, Roger Russell.

 You will find Semifinalist  here:


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. 
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2001 - 2007 Winners Compilation CDs available at the DSA store

All winning songs are on a CD Compilation that was given out at the Awards Ceremony. To get any 3 double CD's simply make a quarter note donation to DSA through our online store and send us an email to request which 3 years of Cd's you want us to mail you.

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2. DSA MEETINGS - http://dsameetings.blogspot.com/

2nd TUESDAY WORKSHOP

July 9th: Guest Speaker, Kathy Baldwin  



Kathy Baldwin of Dacats Music wil speak about song placement in Film and Advertising.


A Graduate of North Texas School of Music, Cathy has been creating music since she was in her teens. Cathy did an album cassette in 1990 - “Thinking of You”. While promoting that album she realized she was left with little time to write so, Cathy stopped performing and started writing. She attended the ASCAP Songwriters Expo and joined NSAI. In the winter of 2007 she went on the Texas Songwriters Cruise where she met Alice Lankford. In January 2008 Cathy started writing with Alice and by May of that year they had penned their first cut - “Not Mad” recorded by Holly Hardin from America’s Got Talent. Cathy and Alice have gone on to write a number of songs dealing with everything from Alzheimer's (Daddy’s Gone) to domestic abuse (Trapped).

FUTURE MEETINGS

Aug: No Meeting
Sept: Michael Brown  - writing advertising jingles
Oct: TBA
Nov: Membership Meeting and Elections

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DSA T-SHIRTS 
NEW shirts: $15 at the meeting (you must ask me for the special) or online by mail $20
OLD 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 - Steve Sullivan, coordinator.
Tino's Too Mexican Restaurant 2205 Ave K, Plano, Tx  972 881-9226

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3. BEST SONGS of the 2nd Tuesday Meeting

JUNE
Giving Up On Memories by Morri Hartgraves
You Gotta Go Home by Roger Russell and Alex Gorodiscas
Critique Panel: Mary Guthrie and Bobby Montgomery


Song of the Year 2012 Winner
5th place to Nancy Rynders, Kiss Me and Make Me Better
4th place to Mary Guthrie, Braver Than We Want to Be
3rd place to James and Roger, Carribean Moon
2nd place to Casey, The Good War
and 1st place, DSA Song of the Year, to Brooke Malouf for Thank God He Broke Your Heart.

2012 DSA Vern Dailey Songwriter of the Year winner is James Pappas

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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4. SHOWCASES AND OPEN MICS -


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

HALF PRICE BOOKS - NORTHWEST HIGHWAY - Rotating guest host featured artist
EVERY 1ST THURSDAY - 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Sign up begins at 6:30
Featured Artist at 8PM

SHOWCASES


SONGWRITERS CONNECTING TO SENIORS

HOUSE OF BLUES DSA Open Mic July 17th, 7-10 p.m. 
(Not in this order . Sets are 15 minutes)

Thus far, among those who didn't get to play last time, and therefore have priority, are:
Heidi Zettl
Barbe McMillen
Jim & Mitch
Randy Brown
Bobby Montgomery
Dan Roark

Those who want to play again, if there's room, are:
Michael Brandenberger
Buck Morgan
Gigi Gosta
Mary Guthrie

SHOWCASE AND OPEN MIC
TEXAS SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND at Sandstone Cellars Winery Showcase & Open Mic in Mason Texas.  
HOURS 6-9PM 211 San Antonio Street, Mason, TX 76856
Shows will be on the 3rd Thursday of each month starting in March.

Guidelines for our stars @ Texas Songwriters in the Round shows:
* All original set of 45 minutes
* A professional commercially released CD with some airplay and press.

We allow any songwriter to come be part of the TSR in the Round, with one star per month! If you'd like to come out and join in as a rounder I can make sure you have a place for the night! To Showcase contact: Jeri Alice
Other area open mics OPEN MICS

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5. DSA LYRIC CONTEST - Next deadline postmarked SEPT 30th - SUMMER CONTEST


2013 WINTER CONTEST WINNERS

2013 WINTER WINNER
Dancing With A Dream by Bill Kapac, Williamstown, PA

2013 winter SEMIFINALISTS (deadline was March 31)



 Better Than the Best Of Wines by Debra Kay Patrick, Woodbridge, ONT, CANADA
 Simple Things or Going Back by Debra Kay Patrick, Woodbridge, ONT, CANADA    
 Romance 101 by Michael Junek, Camreon, TX
 I Keep On Wanting You by Andre Kerek, Miami, FL 
How Long Does Love Last by Bill Kapac, Williamstown, NJ
 Dancing With a Dream by Bill Kapac, Williamstown, NJ 
 Window Pain by Bill Kapac, Williamstown, NJ
Trying To Say I Love You by Bill Kapac, Williamstown, NJ 
 Painting My Picture by Bill Kapac, Williamstown, NJ


CURRENT WINNERS and PAST WINNERS and LYRICS POSTED ON THE WEBSITE

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

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6. MEMBER NEWS -

Wanna get involved? Become a committee member. It's fun! Be apart of the inner workings or the DSA. We have a board position open. We're looking for a Treasurer.

To view a list of the 2013 elected Directors 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
* Film Licensing Co. seeking instrumental music
* 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.

THANK YOU PATRON L3: TREVOR DAHLEN
                   PATRON SAINTS: PAUL ZANDER, ROGER RUSSELL
Thanks to our president, Roger Russell for providing the PA at the Wildflower Festival and donating the Wildflower check to DSA.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: Deanna Washington, Wyler DelRay, Aaron Shook, Matt Cord, Richard Braund, Dickey Johnson, Dan Roark, George AlbertJana Zettl, Andy Schrumpf, Tom Jordan, Michael Shane Andrews, Phillip Wildman, Kerry McCall

THANK YOU FOR RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP:  Robin Wilis, Allen Larson, Terry Bloss, Annie Cornelius, Joe Milton, Ryan Galloway, Julie Jean White, Suzi Morse, Trevor DahlenTommy Thomas, Stephen Johnson

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

EXPIRED IN OCT: Charles Risinger, Liz Basse
EXPIRED IN NOV:  Jose Cantu, Cheryl Anderson, Donna Scoggins, Shelby Cook,
EXPIRED IN DEC: Ross Smith, Lisa Miller, Kathern Hallberg, Randy Brown, Joe Milton, Gregg Watts, Mark Sanders, Steve Ritter, JR Byrd
Expired in JAN: James Andrew Boyer, Matt Boggs
EXPIRED IN FEB: Mark Glasmire, Melinda Starnes
EXPIRED IN MARCH: Ryan Eichenwald, Alexandra Brooks, Corey Anderson, Brian Coker, Tom Biles, Madilne Shaw, Holly Doubet, Jim Baker, George Pucini
EXPIRED IN APRIL: Joanna Endsley, Daniel Anchondo, Margaret CuddiheeMolly Bush, Buz Craft Jeremy Ellis, Casey Graham, Dewey Stark, Mofor Otang, Robert Harper, David Spence, Lanny Sherwin, 
EXPIRED IN MAY: Bob Paterno, Ginny Lane, Mathew Johnson
EXPIRED IN JUNE: Renee Safier, Noel Cohen, Andre Kerek
PLEASE RENEW THIS MONTH: John Nitzinger

Member News : 
Read performance reviews here: http://dsareviews.blogspot.com/

Grady Yates was runner up in the BW Stevenson Contest

SEE OUR NEW MEMBER NEWS PAGE HERE.

Renew your membership online,
You'll find the link to the store on the panel to the right

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7. WORKSHOPS - DSA WORKSHOPS 

(Each month DSA hosts 3 workshops at our monthly meetings on the 1st Monday, 3rd Monday and 2nd Tuesday these are ongoing. see item 2 above.)
http://songswapworkshops.blogspot.com/

MORE TO COME IN THE FALL.
Want to study songwriting but don't want to get out of your PJ's? Take a class online through a songwriting workshop yahoo group.

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8. EVENTS - Featuring local and worldwide events of the songwriting community including, seminars, conferences, and showcases.

JULY

AUG
3 - 8 Christian Artist Seminar, Germany
11- 17 REO Songwriters Retreat, British Columbia
10 - 16 UK Songwriting Festival, Scotland

SEPT
26 - 28 Cutting Edge Music Conference, NOLA

OCT
2 - 6 AC3 Music Conference, Atlanta, GA
3- 5 Durango Expo, Boulder, CO

Go to the events page to view links to local and Texas venues. There's a list of holiday music for this month.  http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/

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9. Featured Articles:

PREZ SEZ: Tune in to DSA President, Roger Russell's, musings and DSA goings on.
A recent announcement stated that they are now recognizing interactive on-demand streams as “sales” for determining Gold Record status. Will their new system really create a golden stream or more yellow snow? The devil is in the details. This exclusive interview with RIAA architect Joshua Friedlander and he explained the nuances of this "revolutionary" way of seeing sales. Click here for everything:  http://su.pr/1sl43Z
Back to Vinyl, The Office Turntable by Kontor Records
By Dana Sedgwick -- This is one of those discoveries that makes both your inner nerd and inner cool kid equally fan out. Rare...Check out the video and tell me that wouldn't be the most delightful surprise for any executive sick of CD mailers and over-crowded email inboxes
Weaned on CDs, They're Reaching for Vinyl
By Allan Kozinn -- Vinyl is growing out of its niche...These days, every major label and many smaller ones are releasing vinyl, and most major new releases have a vinyl version, leading to a spate of new pressing plants. [Thanks to Michelle Kay for the link.]
Uncertainty, Copyright and Courage: ASCAP President Paul Williams Delivers Powerful Keynote Address at the World Creators Summit
By Paul Williams -- "I want the next generation of creators – who will face the profound uncertainty of a blank page – to have this certainty...That life as a professional is possible. That if their works become successful, driving profits for others, they too will be able to share in that success. That they, too, will be able to put food on the table and put their kids through college – as I have been lucky enough to do. That they too will have the economic security to make the creation of exciting new works their full-time profession."
VIDEO
VIDEO: The Rolling Stones Mixing "Little Queenie"
By Bobby Owsinski -- Here's a great piece of history in a behind the scenes look at Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stone's (along with piano player Ian Stewart) mixing "Little Queenie," a single they released from their 1969 live album Get Your Ya Ya's Out.

MUSIC BUSINESS - more articles posted on the new blog DSA Music Biz News
By Philip Taylor

The 4 Places You Should Be Entering All Of Your Concert Dates To Increase Concert Attendance  http://bit.ly/12LInUe

Who Owns Your Music Publishing Rights, & How are the Royalties Split?  http://bit.ly/10qCInL

7 Deadly Sins Musicians Are Committing on Facebook & Twitter  http://bit.ly/15wFLQb

5 Ways to Increase Your Show Draw http://bit.ly/16MiOFt

Average iTunes Account Generates Just $12 in Music Revenue Per Year
By Glenn Peoples -- The average person doesn't spend much on music at iTunes, the world's biggest music store, but iTunes itself generates an incredible amount of revenue.

IN MEMORANDUM
The Late, Great Bobby 'Blue' Bland Talks His First Hit, His Legacy, Chauffeuring B.B. King In One of His Last Interviews
By Paul Sexton -- The sad news of Bobby "Blue" Bland's passing on Jun. 23 deprives us of a true sovereign, whose distinctive voice mixed honey and gravel, and who could spin a web of romantic passion and pain inside three minutes.
PERFORMANCE


Understanding Common Touring / Concert Promotion Contracts and Making a Profit
By Katie Reilly -- ...unfortunately the passion of musicians and the complexities of the music business make it ripe breeding ground for scams created by people looking to make money off of unwitting artists looking for a chance to be heard.

House Concerts - You're Probably Doing it Wrong
By Fran Snyder -- If you treat someone's home (or your own) like a public venue, you are inviting several types of liability with potentially serious consequences. House concerts should be private events, and this article describes ways to safely build an audience, and the problems that can arise if you go "public."

Bitter or Better: The Two Types of Artists
By Grassrootsy -- When things don't go the way you want them to in life, you have 2 options...
LISTEN 


Grocery Store Opera
By Big Geek Daddy -- [Thanks to Pamela Phillips Oland for the link]
RECORDING



Barbe McMillen's blog, The Craft of Songwriting

Online Thesaurus and Rhyming Dictionary



Great web tool for lyric writing
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10. Song and Talent Contests

DSA ANNUAL SONG CONTEST March 15th - June 17th

DSA Quarterly Lyric Contest http://dsalyriccontest.blogspot.com/


See contest details at:
Song, Lyric and Fiddle Contests


A comprehensive list of Song Contests compliments of MusesMuse.com