Monday, November 10, 2014

SONGWRITERS NOTES: DSA E-NEWS #159 November 2014

Hello Songwriter,
The weather is finally changing and raining a little. We are into such a drought that we really need a lot of rain. Fall is my favorite time of year and this is my birthday month. Yes, I'm a redheaded scorpio.

Thanks so much to those of you who have contributed to the fundraising drive for Dallas Songwriters Association. For those of you who haven't yet, there is still time. We are a non-profit educational organization. That means your donations are totally tax deductible and  the great news is that a sponsor, who has asked to be un-named, will match our funds raised. Please go to our kagi store online to donate: http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=7TE_LIVE  , Or you can donate by mail to: Dallas Songwriters Association, Sammons Center For The Arts, 3630 Harry Hines # 20, Dallas, Tx 75219 See DSA Prez, Michael Brandenberger's full Letter of Request for Support here: http://dsaprezsez.blogspot.com/

We've been having a lot of fun at our new showcase at Angela's in Plano the 2nd and fourth Saturday.
Come join us. The food is great and of course, so is the music!

Tony Ramey is playing on Sunday November 16th at 5PM at Grady Yates house concert in North Dallas,  Tony has written hits songs for Trisha Yearwood, John Michael Montgomery and George Strait. Here's a complete bio: http://tonyramey.com/about-tony/.The deal that Tony was offering at the October show still stands.  For a price of the show, you get to submit a song for critique by some of Nashville's finest and a chance to attend a workshop later this fall. See #7 below for details.


Our Second Tuesday Workshop will be our Annual Membership Meeting and Elections. Also, Rachel Wilhelm will roll out the new DSA website. She will explain the new member only features - see #2 below for details. The Semifinalist for the Song Contest will be announced and the drawing for the ipod wi take place from the contest entries

 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.

The DSA Christmas Party and Song Contest Awards will take place on December 9th at the Sons of Hermann Hall. Semifinalist from our song contest are invited to perform.

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Check out our pictures on the Dallas Songwriters Facebook. Go on Facebook and LIKE us. New, tell your friends 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 CLOSED - http://dsasongcontest.blogspot.com/

Drawing For Free Ipod: Nov 11, 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/

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING and Elections on Nov 11 - PLUS ROLL OUT OF THE NEW DSA WEBSITE

The Dallas Songwriters Association will hold its annual membership meeting and elections on November 11, at the Center for Community Cooperation, 2900 Live Oak, at 7PM. Please plan to submit your nominations for our governing Board of Directors.
If you are not able to attend, please assign your proxy to a fellow member who will be attending. You can do this by email to the member who can present the proxy to cast a vote for you. Or you can email your proxy to me by replying to this message.

ROLL OUT OF THE DSA WEBSITE

Following elections our guest speaker will be DSA's webmaster, Rachel Wilhelm, demonstrating the roll out of our new DSA website. This is very exiting for DSA members because there are many new features in a members only area. Find out how to get the best out of DSA. Don't miss this meeting.

Song Contest Semifinalists Announced, plus, Drawing for the IPOD.

Critiques will follow.

 MEETING SCHEDULE
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 $10
2900 Live Oak
Dallas, Tx 75204
214 821 0911

COMING UP:
DEC 9 - DSA Christmas Party and Song Contest Awards, Sons Of Hermann Hall


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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

October 2014
Dreaming of You by Bobby Montgomery
Critique panel: Bobby Smith  and Joe Milton  (4 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

SPECIAL DATES FOR NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER
NOV 20TH
DECEMBER 18TH

SHOWCASES

Saturday Night at the Angela's at the Crosswalk in Downtown Plano

THE DSA WILL HOST TWICE-MONTHLY SHOWCASES ON THE 2ND AND 4TH SATURDAYS OF THE MONTH. 
2nd Saturday Night   7:30 to 9:30 pm   Harry Hewlett will host.
         Featured: Sugar Daddy and the MandMs, Terry McCall, Duke McBoagin
         After Show - 9:30 - 11: Michael Brandenberger, Mark Evans
4th Saturday Night, 7:30 to 9:30 pm   Buck Morgan will host.
         Featured: Aaron Shook, Bobby Montgomery
         After Show 9:30 - 11: David Byboth, Trevor Dahlen

SONGWRITERS CONNECTING TO SENIORS - on hold


SHOWCASE AND OPEN MIC - 

TEXAS SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND at Sandstone Cellars Winery Showcase and 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 December 31st

SPRING LYRIC CONTEST WINNERS
1. This Backyard’s Rockin’ © 2014 Sarah Ashley, Maryville, TN
2. End to the End © Mark Paterson, Plano, TX
3. Workin’ For You Ain’t Workin’ For Me © John Thomas Lane, Monument, CO


SEMIFINALIST
One Night Stands by Bill Kapac, Williamstown, NJ
Peace Is Not So Far Away by Bill Kapac, Williamstown, NJ
Turtle Bait by Rio King, Plano, TX
The Old Wrecked Vet by Rio King, Plano, TX
Forever Free by John Mason, Grand Prairie, TX
Letters In The Moonlight by John Mason, Grand Prairie, TX
This Backyard's Rockin' by Sarah Ashley, Maryville, TN
End to End by Mark Paterson, Plano, TX
Workin' For You Ain't Working For Me by John Thomas Lane, Monument, CO

Enter onine

SUMMER 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.
                   PATRON SAINTS: PAUL ZANDER, ROGER RUSSELL, TREVOR DAHLEN
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.
Patron Sponsor L3: Bobby Montgomery, Harry Hewlett, Latoya Cooper, Kent Poynor, Ken Duren, Terry Bloss, Martha Myre, Michael Brandenberger
Patron Sponsor L1: Ann Cornelius, Suzi Morse
Patron Sponsor: Bill Kapac, Mary Guthrie

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: Martha Myre

THANK YOU FOR RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP:  Ken Golden, Terry Bloss
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 JUNE: Michael Roth, Wyler Delray, Renee Safier, Cole Dillow, Frank Precure, Mike Myers, Deanna Washington
EXPIRED IN JULY: Lynn Adler
EXPIRED IN AUG: Donna Lisa, Sandra Foster Brown, Alex Gordiscas, Kevin Reardon, Macy Medford
EXPIRED IN SEPT: Bill Honker, Ted Alvarez, Mary Matthews, Marcus Belmore, Patrick Beck, Marcy Carter.
EXPIRED IN OCT: Randy Sauer, Eddie Lott, Cal Scott, Brian Kalinec,Denise Rosier, Katie Hardyman, Charlie Hill, T Edwin Doss, Stephen McWhirter, Arek Religa, Kate Diaz, Roger Day, Maureen Fichten, Brent Benton
TIME TO RENEW THIS MONTH: BC Cornish, Jasmine Dia, Richard Hopson, Gigi Gostas, Randy Brown, Mimi Balkey

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 : 

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

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.)

Tony Ramey show at Grady Yates House Concert in North Dallas on November 16th - Chance for song critique and free workshop. RSVP here to get your name on the list. $20 cash at the Door. LIMITED SEATING

Tony Ramey and Dig It Deep Publishing will be sponsoring a *FREE* song critique (a $50.00 value service for the price of a $15.00 ticket to a killer singer-songwriter evening out!) where a sound media submission along with the lyrics to a single song will be critiqued by any one of our pool of hit songwriters (Tony Ramey is included in that pool along with the likes of Clay Mills, Darius Rucker and Diamond Rio #1's; Kris Bergsnes, Gold and Platinum records on Wynnona Judd and Tim McGraw; Willie Nance, #1's on George Strait and Brad Paisley; and many others who are good friends and colleagues of Tony Ramey). Specific instructions for submission will be given with confirmation of attendance in the days following the show (a guest book will be provided at the show for active member signatures and emails to check against the Dallas Songwriters membership roster.

But that's not all! Any member of the Dallas Songwriters Association will also have an opportunity to attend a *FREE* 3-4 hour Saturday workshop and clinic to be scheduled in late November-Mid December. All you have to do is the following:

1. Submit, with an RSVP of attendance to this email [admin@tonyramey.com], a guest list that indicates you're hosting THREE other people who've purchased tickets for the show.

2. When your list is checked against those who sign the guest book and note their "Host" for the evening, the RSVP hosting member gets a free pass to the clinic and workshop!

A couple of items to remember: Make sure your list doesn't duplicate someone else's (in other words, make sure your guests aren't on someone else's guest list); the first RSVP "hosting" email received will take precedence, and duplicates will be disqualified. Keep in mind also that it's fine to host other active members to qualify for the workshop, but duplicates will disqualify hosting members from it. In short, just make sure you be careful whose "guest list" YOUR "guests" are on.
• 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.

NOV
NERFA Folk Alliance Regional Conference, Hudson Valley ResortKerhonksonNY,
16th Three Moon Houce Concert with Tony Ramey.
11 DSA Annual Membership Meeting and Elections
16 Tony Ramey House Concert

DEC
9 DSA Christmas Party and Song Contest Awards showcase - Sons of Hermann Hall


Moses Avalon's List of Top Ranked Music Conferences.
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:

The Download Heard 'Round the World: iTunes Numbers Show 81 Million 'Experienced' U2 Album
By Shirley Halperin, Andrew Hampp -- U2 has gone from setting records to breaking them and, with the band's game-changing Apple partnership, simply defying all imaginable expectations.

By Amy Davidson -- "Can you please never release an album on iTunes that automatically downloads to people's playlists ever again? It's really rude."

If this is true, what's the excuse for not paying creators (aka the goose that laid the golden egg) fairly?]
Nielsen's Music 360: Americans Make Music Top Entertainment Choice
FMQB -- According to Music 360° 2014, Nielsen's third annual in-depth study of the tastes, habits and preferences of U.S. music listeners, 93% of the national population listens to music, spending more than 25 hours each week tuning into their favorite tunes.

 Windowing, Shake It Off

By Mark Mulligan – [Taylor] Swift's label Big Machine has long adhered to a streaming windowing strategy and there is pretty compelling evidence that the approach has paid dividends...In the short term expect copycat actions. Labels and artists will see the runaway success of '1989' and conclude that windowing played a key role...However the shift to consumption models is an inevitable process...
Taylor Swift Left Spotify Because We Stopped Valuing Art
By Willard Foxton-- It strikes me that art is less valuable than it's ever been. If we consume it more, but value it less, what does that mean for society? [Thanks to Neil Turkewitz for the link.]
Taylor Swift's Secret Music Man: Max Martin, Elusive Hitmaker
By Debra A. Klein -- Max Martin has written more than 50 top ten hits worldwide, including sales of over 135 million singles, but unlike other top sellers, very few people except those in the industry, or who scrutinize liner notes, know his name.
MUSIC BUSINESS - more articles posted on  DSA Music Biz News

http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/how-to-book-your-own-gigs.html



Lessons for DIY Musicians: II
By Nick Fuller -- Songwriting and performing music are still super competitive occupations, fraught with daunting uncertainty; but today looks like a better day than ever before to make a dent in the music universe...
How to Book Your Own Gigs
By Dave Kusek -- Every musician has to start out booking their own gigs, but, as you've probably realized, this is a lot easier said than done...For promoters, it's a game of risk management - they want to book bands they know will fill the room - so getting the spot as a new band can be very tricky.


New U.S. Tax Court Ruling Should Help Indie Artists
By Christiane Cargill Kinney -- On October 2, 2014, the United States Tax Court issued its decision in favor of artist Susan Crile, and found that she had indeed "met her burden of proving that in carrying on her activity as an artist, she had an actual and a honest objective of making a profit," even though she oftentimes did not, and that she should be considered a "professional artist" under the tax laws. What does this mean for artists as a whole?



IN MEMORANDUM

ASCAP Mourns the Loss of American Composer and Former Board Member Stephen Paulus
By Dean Kay -- Tears are welling as I post this. Steve was a good friend, a massive talent and a caring person when it came to others - especially in the creative community. All who knew him, loved him. We will miss him dearly. I will especially miss his humor and the fact that he was always ready with the right prescription when the best medicine for any situation was a good laugh. God's speed my friend.
LISTEN 



Carlos Santana: 'I Am A Reflection Of Your Light'
NPR Staff -- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artist Carlos...has become one of the world's most celebrated musicians, a destiny that was difficult to imagine during his childhood in a small Mexican town. ... Santana shares his journey from Autlán, Mexico, to international stardom in his new memoir, The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light. The book is dedicated to his mother, Josefina. [Thanks to the Copyright Alliance for the link.]
PERFORMANCE

Can You Sing Two Notes At Once? This Woman Can
By Chris Robley -- Anne-Maria Hefele can control her voice so well that she's able to create parallel, contrary, and oblique harmonies...all by herself.

CRAFT OF SONGWRITING


The Paradox Of Music-Evoked Sadness
By Taruffi L, Koelsch S.--This study explores listeners' experience of music-evoked sadness. Sadness is typically assumed to be undesirable and is therefore usually avoided in everyday life. Yet the question remains: Why do people seek and appreciate sadness in music?
Listen to a Surprisingly Catchy Song Comprised of Nothing but Keyboard Clicks
By Rob Walker -- [Obviously inspired by The Nicholas Brothers]
Further exploration of the creator's basic food groups. Just kidding.]

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/
Next deadline - December 31st

DSA Annual Song Contest in the judging process

Song, Lyric and Fiddle Contests

Second annual youth Songwriter and composition competition for ages 10 thru 17. Deadline Feb 1.  Submissions are on-line with youtube or MP-3. For Guidelines and prizes, see: http://www.violettesbybecky.com/blog/composition-competition-songwriter/
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 Classes