Thursday, June 5, 2014

SONGWRITERS NOTES DSA E-NEWS #155 JUNE 2014

Hello Songwriter,

I have to tell you a very sad thing. DSA member and really special friend, Steve Weisberg has passed away. Please see #6 Member News below for our thoughts. You can also find over 500 postings on Steve's Facebook page.

Festival season is over and it's getting too hot to be outside, but there is still lots going on this summer. 

Our Second Tuesday Workshop will present local singer songwriter Jay Johnson  - see #2 below for details.

The SongSwap at Half Price Books was Monday but if you missed that one, the 3rd Monday will be in Plano.  Our regular DSA monthly events remain the same 1st and 3rd Monday SongSwaps and 1st and 3rd Thursday Open Mic. For details, see #2 and #4 below. Also we have a regular showcase at House of Blues every last Wednesday of the month and an open mic christian fellowship in a historic building in Waxahachie, see #4 below. Food is served at 6PM and it goes for a couple of hours.

DSA has announced the date of it's summer picnic pool party and Jam to be the first Saturday in August. Mark your calendar for August 2nd.
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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.
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1. ANNUAL SONG CONTEST - http://dsasongcontest.blogspot.com/

Submission Deadline: Sept 16, 2014
Drawing For Free Ipod: Oct 14, 2014
Semi-Finalists Announced: Nov 11, 2014
Finalists and Grand Prize Winners Announced: Dec 9, 2014

                 2014 Dallas Songwriters Song Contest
Now in its 24th year, The DSA 2014 Song Contest is one of the longest running international song contests for amateur songwriters. Over $5,000 in cash and prizes.

GRAND PRIZE

A Casio Privia Piano
and a Nashville recording session at Bieard Music Group. 
Beaird Music Group


1st Runner Up
 wins studio time at
River Sounds Recording Resort







2nd Runner up
wins recording time at 
Jo-Musik


Grand Prize winners receive:
($199.95 Value) 
Includes Artist Website, 1 Yr. Hosting
1 Yr. Sonicbids Membership

Category winners get cash prizes


Hear last years winners on Soundcloud at:

HARDCOPY OF NEWSLETTER ANNOUNCEMENT of 2013 WINNERS HANDED OUT AT THE ARLINGTON GUITAR SHOW

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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 - June 10

JAY JOHNSON


Jay's music has found homes in various genres, from southern rock to blues to americana/country to funk and singer songwriter...so please peruse through the entire catalog - thanks so much!

Jay Johnson is a multi-genre (he hates that term, by the way,) multi-award winning (hates that one, too) performer singer/songwriter. Among his most recent accolades, Jay was nominated for Singer/Songwriter of the Year at the 2007 Texas Music Awards.



Future Programs:
July: Dove nominated producer, Joe Milton
No August Meeting
Sept: Dru Richman on Band In A Box Songwriting Tool

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

May 2014
Before Saying Goodbye by Bobby Montgomery
Critique panel: Aaron Shook and Ted Pearce  (6 songs)

To view past winners go to the Best Songs blog. http://bestsongsofthemeeting.blogspot.com/
To hear the winners go to our Soundcloud page https://soundcloud.com/dsa-best-songs
Did you know that A and R reps from labels and music publishers are listening to our Myspace page each month?
HARDCOPY OF SONGWRITERS NOTES 2014 SPRING
includes 2013 critiques winners

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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

SING or bring an instrument
MGB Ministeries Presents:
Supporting Artists in the Body of Christ
A cultural exchange fellowship @ Getzendaner Park, Chautauqua Building
the Last Thursday of every month
CREATING A PLATFORM FOR WORSHIP
It’s an informal gathering of artists to celebrate every tribe, tongue, and nation within
the Body of Christ through worship arts. We encourage ALL artists to participate in the worship including worship painters, worship dancing, banners, shofars, etc. Bring your gifts for the King! 
We especially want to support songwriters to come with their songs and musicians to come with chord charts ready to jam with others. Please call in advance so we can fit everybody in.
For more info contact: Michael Barton  972.935.2552

SHOWCASES

HOUSE OF BLUES
Every last Wednesday
You must be a member to showcase. 
Email Buck Morgan to get on the roster for this month.

SONGWRITERS CONNECTING TO SENIORS - on hold


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 .

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 June 30th - SPRING CONTEST

Enter onine

WINTER 2014 IS IN THE JUDGING PROCESS

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.

To view a list of the 2014 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 NOTEWORTHY SPONSOR: TREVOR DAHLEN
                   PATRON SAINTS: PAUL ZANDER, ROGER RUSSELL
Thanks to our past president, Roger Russell for providing the PA at the Wildflower Festival and donating the Wildflower check to DSA. Also, for several matching donations from Hewlett Packard and Network For Good.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: John Mason, David Wysong, Gary White, Kent Poyner

THANK YOU FOR RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP:  Ken Duren, Dickey Johnson, Trevor Dahlen
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 JAN: Steve Erickson, Kelly Aldous,Tim Malloly, Mikah Young, Carlos Savetman
EXPIRED IN FEB: Emmitt Fennessey
EXPIRED IN MARCH: Jana Zettl, Kayla Elloit, Kimberly Elliot, Kelsey Grogan, Robin Willis, Cary Cooper, David Byboth
EXPIRED IN APRIL: Keith Thompson, Claire Ulanoff, Steve Johnson, Michael Andrews, Kerry McCall, Phillip Wildmon, Andy Schrumpf, Tom Jorden, Loretta Dunnaway, Suzi Morse, Tom Thomas
EXPIRED IN MAY: Aaron Shook, Richard Braund, George Albert, Dan Roark
TIME TO RENEW THIS MONTH: Michael Roth, Allen Larsen, Wyler Delray, Renee Safier, Cole Dillow, Frank Precure, Mike Myers, Matt Cords, Deanna Washington

A Members Page off the Dallas Songwriters homepage has a list of members and a url link. Please check the page and email me your link if it is not included.

Member News : 

DSA MEMBER AND LONGTIME FRIEND, STEVE WEISBERG, PASSED AWAY
See this personal article by Barbe and Buck of thoughts about Steve.
http://dsamusicbiznews.blogspot.com/2014/06/memories-of-steve-weisberg-lead-guitar.html

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

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.)


• SoundEmerge Master Series - Ralph Murphy hosts award winning songwriters.
Register and view online. http://soundemerge.com/


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.

JUNE
 - 8 Kerrville Folk Festival, Kerrville, Tx http://www.kerrville-music.com/
7th National Gospel Quartet Meet and Greet Showcase and Conference, Greater St Matthew Baptist Church, Houston Texas - more info
22 3 Moon House Concert 

SEPT
25-28  SWRFA Folk Alliance Regional Conference, Austin, Tx

OCT
Far-West Folk Alliance Regional ConferenceHyatt Regency IrvineIrvineCA,
FARMFolk Alliance Regional Conference, Sheraton Westport TowerStLouisMO
16 - 18   Yonder Mountain String Band’s Harvest Music Festival, Ozark, AR
Arlington Guitar Show, Arlington, Tx

NOV
NERFA Folk Alliance Regional Conference, Hudson Valley ResortKerhonksonNY,

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's musings and DSA goings on.


NPR 100
Throughout the year 2000, NPR presented the stories behind 100 of the most important American musical works of the 20th century, across all styles and genres. [Here they are from the NPR Archives.]
Research Confirms: Music Builds Business
Canada NewsWire -- Results of the Music In Business research study confirm the importance of music to business owners has increased in the last two years, and most businesses believe that the music they play gives them an advantage over the competition.
MUSIC BUSINESS - more articles posted on  DSA Music Biz News

U.S. Copyright Fees Rise Substantially (May 1, 2014)
By Bruce Houghton -- Most U.S. Copyright Office fees, including registration and related services went up as of May 1, 2014.
[Weedsy but important.]
Much Ado About Copyright's 'Making Available' Right
The Copyright Alliance -- The Copyright Act of 1976 imposes liability upon those who make copyrighted works available to the public without authorization of the copyright owner. Notwithstanding my view that Congress intended such reach, I recommended that Congress clarify the scope of the distribution right in view of dissensus in the courts.
5 Steps to an Amazing Band Website
By Dave Kusek -- Building a new site or refurbishing an old one can seem a daunting task, so I've broken it down into 5 things you should keep in mind through the design process
How To Effectively Promote Your Music Video on Facebook
By Kelland Drumgoole –- [Y]ou want to, not only sell your music video, you want to engage with your growing audience and earn more fans. Facebook is the answer for that.
IN MEMORANDUM
DSA MEMBER AND LONGTIME FRIEND, STEVE WEISBERG, PASSED AWAY
See this personal article by Barbe and Buck of thoughts about Steve.
LISTEN 
Christmas for Cowboys by Weisberg and Denver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejLQSpVBxBE

VIDEO

Hank and Dean, Tennessee Ernie Ford and RFK
From deep in the bowels of my former singing partner's jam packed, memory laden, death trap of a garage, comes a long lost video (lifted from a Kinescope) of one of our performances as regulars on the daily Tennessee Ernie Ford Show from San Francisco in 1963 ... Most interesting thing about this clip is the tag. Check out Robert Kennedy's apparent total befuddlement as to why he had been forced to be a witness. [Thanks to Hank Jones for risking his life to dredge this 51 year old memory of what it was like to have hair and makeup.] -- DK

PERFORMANCE


RECORDING

Learn Music Mixing While Playing With Peter Gabriel's Music
By Clyde Smith -- Play With Your Music (PWYM) is a collaborative effort between faculty from NYU, P2P University and the MIT Media Lab. It's a free learning community organized around an introductory course featuring music, in this session, by Peter Gabriel. Participants will learn remixing basics and work on their own as well as with other students. It starts May 16th.

CRAFT OF SONGWRITING

Interview: Hans Zimmer: My Greatest Fear Is Not Knowing Where the Music Comes from
By Simon Reynolds -- "...I'm always afraid that somebody's going to turn off the tap."
Music 'Hackers' Unleash New Generation of Cool and Bizarre Instruments
By Kieron Monks -- [I'm waiting for one of these things to set someone on fire.]

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

DSA Annual Song Contest will kick off soon.
Song, Lyric and Fiddle Contests


Empowerment Song Needed
Deadline: June 15
No Submission Fee
Looking for original songs that contain empowering, positive and inspirational themes as well as songs that contain positive statements such as "I Can", "I Will", etc. 
Email you song plus bio and video

A comprehensive list of Song Contests compliments of MusesMuse.com
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11. Songwriting Resources -  Now accepting book reviews

Links to websites about songwriting, performance, music industry.

DSA Book Store - reviews, links, lists of recommended reading, and what's in the DSA Library.
12. Archives of Past Programs and Activities

SONGS FROM THE SOUL OF SERVICE

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

CROSSROADS SHOWCASES

View past showcase performances and workshops on Crossroads Youtube.
                       
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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 21th 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.

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,
  Barbara McMillen, Editor
  Songwriter Notes
  Founding President Emeritus, DSADSA Online Store
  Online Songwriting Workshops and Classeshttp://www.songwritingcompetition.com.