DSA E-News: Songwriters Notes Issue #166 June 2015

Hello Songwriter,

Well it continued to rain through the month of May until we broke a record. The great thing about that is that the rain broke long enough to have a great Wildflower weekend and it stayed cool enough to really enjoy it. The Courtyard Stage was a big hit with some great singer songwriter talent. Also, everyone that attended the Cliff Eberhardt workshop was raving about how wonderfully helpful he was. Kudos to Cliff for such a great workshop. Wow! Cliff focused on melody, a topic not often covered.

Our Second Tuesday Meeting Barbara McMillen, yes, yours truly, will be speaking on The Bridge: What Is It and Do I Really Need One?  See #2 below.

On June 19th, we will have the next DSA Showcase at Poor David's Pub. I'm in the line up along with some great DSA talent. Here is the link to the event page.

Our second and fourth Sat. Showcases at Angela's are a big hit. See # 4 below for the line up in June.

 Our regular DSA monthly events remain the same 1st and 3rd Monday SongSwaps and 3rd Thursday Open Mic.  For details, see #2 and #4 below. Some of us like to visit the Poor Davids Pub Open Mic every Monday.

Hope your summer is getting off to a good start. We're finally drying out here is Dallas.

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PITCH OPPORTUNITY FROM OUR SPONSOR BEAIRD MUSIC

PITCH YOUR SONGS TO PUBLISHERS

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1. ANNUAL SONG CONTEST - We are planning to launch the song contest later this month.  http://dsasongcontest.blogspot.com/ 

LUCIA COMNES WINS GRAND PRIZE WITH HER SONG, "NO HIDING PLACE"

http://dsapress.blogspot.com/2015_01_01_archive.html  

Review of the Awards Dinner -  http://dsasongcontest.blogspot.com/p/awards-dinner-tuesday-december-9-at.html

On December 9th, at Sons of Hermann Halls, we announced our song contest winners. Our grand prize winner was Lucia Comnes; Second place was local girl, Gracie Lott, and James Bennett took third place. See the press release about the grand prize winners here: http://dsapress.blogspot.com/2015_01_01_archive.html  See the complete list of winners on our song contest page: http://dsasongcontest.blogspot.com. Our Christmas Party and Awards Dinner was so much fun.  details here: http://dsasongcontest.blogspot.com/p/awards-dinner-tuesday-december-9-at.html 

                 2015 Dallas Songwriters Song Contest

Now in its 25th year, The DSA 2015 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. 

1st Runner Up

 wins studio time at

2nd Runner up

wins recording time at 

Grand Prize winners receive:

1 Yr. Broadjam Primo MoB Membership

($199.95 Value) 

Includes Artist Website, 1 Yr. Hosting

1 Yr. Sonicbids Membership

Category winners get cash prizes

Listen to the winners on Soundcloud at:

https://soundcloud.com/dallas_song_contest/sets/dsa-2014-song-contest-winners

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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. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO DSA

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2. DSA MEETINGS - SECOND TUESDAY WORKSHOP

  June 9: Barbara McMillen

will speak to DSA about 
The Bridge: What Is It and Do I Really Need One?

   More about Barbara and the meeting topic at:https://dsameetings.blogspot.com

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
DETAILS ON MEETING PROCEDURES
https://dallassongwriters.org/events/2nd-tuesday-meeting-agenda-and-song-critique/

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FUTURE SPEAKERS
July 14 – Bill Nash - alt tunings with many capos
August 11 – No Meeting 
August 8 : Summer Picnic and Jam
September 8 – Co- Writes
October 13 - Turk Wilder
November 10 - Annual Membership Meeting
December 8 - Christmas Party and Awards Dinner

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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.

http://songswapworkshops.blogspot.com/

FIRST MONDAY in East Dallas

Half Price Books, 5803 E Northwest Hwy Dallas, TX 75231-6519 (214) 379-8000

 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 2015
Give "EM Time Lord by Bobby Montgomery

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

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4. SHOWCASES AND OPEN MICS -

http://showcases-openmics.blogspot.com/

OPEN MICS

DUNN BROTHERS COFFEE HOUSE -

EVERY 3RD THURSDAY - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

NO HALF PRICE BOOKS OPEN MIC THIS MONTH- 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

KITCHEN CAFE' - North Dallas
EVERY LAST MONDAY - 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Hosted by Michael Brandonberger

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.7:30 - 11:00 Hosted by Buck Morgan and Harry Hewlett 
                Featured artist each month followed by open mic.

June 13—Clift Munroe/Cat McGee, AfterShow, Terry Bloss
June 27—Rachel Wilhem/Shane Andrews. AfterShow, Dan Roark
July 11—Terry Bloss/Richard Hunt
July 25 —Dan Roark /Mark Evans
August 8—Raquel Wynne/Ian Dickson
August 22—Bryan Adams Joyner/James Pappas

http://dsashowcases.blogspot.com/

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 .

Every 1st Thursday 7-9 PM @ Fuel Coffee House 106 Main St, Llano, Texas

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

http://www.openmicdallas.com/

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5. DSA LYRIC CONTEST - Next deadline postmarked June 30th

Enter onine
We are still moving our website. Enter at the old WEBSITE.

or by mail


 SUMMER 2014 WINNER

Angels Down the Road by John Thomas Lane, Monument, CO

 FALL 2014 WINNER
Bounce by John Hyden, Ralston, NE

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.

http://dsalyriccontest.blogspot.com/

HARD COPY OF 2012 WINNERS IN SPRING 2013 ISSUE OF SONGWRITERS NOTES.

HARD COPY OF 2013 FALL ISSUE INCLUDES SPRING AND SUMMER WINNERS 2013

HARD COPY OF SUMMER AND FALL 2013 WINNER ARE IN THE 2014 SPRING ISSUE OF SONGWRITERS NOTES

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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 committee positions open.

Officers Elected at the Planning Meeting on January 10, 2015

Michael Brandenberger -  Prez
Bobby Montgomery - Executive VP, VP Programs
Dicky Johnson - Treasurer
Rachel Wilhelm - Tech
Dan Roark - Lyric Contest Director
Barbe McMillen - Communications, Administration, Newsletter
Joe Milton, Steve Sullivan, Ken Duren and James Pappas - At Large

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

Patron Sponsor L3: Bobby Montgomery, Harry Hewlett, Latoya Cooper, Kent Poynor, Ken Duren, Terry Bloss, Martha Myre, Michael Brandenberger, Bill Honker, Morri Hartgraves, Steve Sullivan, James Pappas, Suzi Morse
Patron Sponsor L1: Ann Cornelius
Patron Sponsor: Bill Kapac, Mary Guthrie, Mimi Balkey

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: Lynn McKrackin, Tamara Stamps, Danielle LaToof, Tim McGarity

THANK YOU FOR RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP:  Bill Honker, Cliff Munroe, Alan Larsen, Dorinda Weaver, Dan Roark, Mark Evans, Ken Duren, Phillip Wildman

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 SEPT: Ted Alvarez, Mary Matthews, Marcus Belmore, Patrick Beck, Marcy Carter.

EXPIRED IN OCT: Eddie Lott, Cal Scott, Brian Kalinec, Stephen McWhirter, Arek Religa, Kate Diaz, Maureen Fichten, Brent Benton
EXPIRED IN NOV: BC Cornish, Jasmine Dia, Richard Hopson
EXPIRED IN DEC: Scott White, Brad Davis, Ashley Sichler, Davi Morales
EXPIRED IN JAN: Grady Yates, Terry Fansler, Ray Phillips, Bill Kapac, Tim Spitzer, Brian Joyner, Cliff Monroe, Troll Mallow, Brit Morgan, Skip Spoonts, Mark Bone, Aaron Rose, Laura Bertwell, Jordy Searcy, Cousin Don Brown, Bob Fisk, Richard Hunt

EXPIRED IN FEB: Jonathan Malone, Jesse Anderson, Wayne Dobry, Anthony Castillo, Daniel Zagotta
EXPIRED IN MARCH: Julia Pauletti, Jeff Rodgers, Carol Shaw, Craig Langford, Johnny Cromer
EXPIRED IN APRIL:Tom Thomas, David Wysong, Gary White, Kerry McCall, Randy Overton, Kent Poynor, John Mason
EXPIRED IN MAY: Ann Cornelius, Julie Jean White, Aaron Shook, Mathew Cords.
TIME TO RENEW THIS MONTH: Joanna Endsley, LaToya Cooper

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 

(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://dsameetings.blogspot.com

http://songswapworkshops.blogspot.com/

Coming later this year - Larry Beaird

For those of you who could not make it to the 2015 ASCAP "I Create Music" EXPO, Video Access is now available for only $99!

More at:    http://dallassongwritersworkshops.blogspot.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.

http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/

2015

JUNE
- 6 Kerville Folk Festival
 13    Colin Gilmore and Nicolette Good at MCL Grand, Lewisville, TX
15  Grammy In The Mix, Hyatt, Austin, TX
20 Tony Ramey at Poor David's Pub, Dallas, TX
21 - 23 New Music Seminar, NYC

26 - 28 Thunder Mountain, Ozark, AR - Zane Williams appearing along with Carrie Underwood and many others    http://thunderonthemountain.com/

JULY
31 - Aug 2 Newport Jazz Fest, Newport RI

AUG
8   DSA Pool Party Jam and BBQ
29- 31 Kerrville Wine and Music, Kerrville, Tx

SEPT
4 - 6 Bedford Blues and BBQ, Bedford, TX
23 - 27 Southwest Regional Folk Alliance, Conference Austin, Tx
 
OCT
 9 Austin City Limits Fest, Austin, Tx

13 - 17 CMJ Marathon, NYC
15 Tony Ramey at Love and War in Plano, TX

NOV
10 DSA Annual Membership Meeting and Elections

DEC
8 DSA Christmas Party

Moses Avalon's List of Top Ranked Music Conferences.

Go to the events page to view links to local and Texas venues.   http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/

JAN 2015
16-17 Texas Music Conference

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9. Featured Articles:

Squeezing Songwriters For Profits
By Paul Williams

[Remember, songwriters are people too.]
Step Into The Songwriter's World ... Feel the LoveBy Paul Zollo

Q&A with Roger Greenaway, the Songwriter Behind Mad Men's Closing Song
By Erik Philbrook -- The closing scene of Mad Men's much-anticipated series finale was brilliant. It featured one of the greatest ads in TV history – the groundbreaking Coca-Cola commercial featuring the song "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," written by former ASCAP EVP, International, Roger Greenaway, and his longtime songwriting partner Roger Cook. ... We asked Greenaway to talk about how he and Cook came together with McCann-Erickson ad exec Bill Backer and the commercial's producer Billy Davis to create such a historic cultural touchstone.

Doc Watson critical after resent surgery

MUSIC BUSINESS - more articles posted on  DSA Music Biz News

The 3 Biggest Reasons Why You Might Still Want to Sign With a Record Label
By James P. Fahy

WordPress: Is It Safe To Use For My Websites?
Given recent reports about vulnerabilities in WordPress installations, is it a safe environment to use for hosting your sites? Resident security guru (and WordPress geek) David Gewirtz provides some valuable guidelines.

7 Surprisingly Smart Yet Uncommon Music Career Investments
By Bobby Borg

Go Get It! Researching Ways To Get You And Your Music In The Media
By Paina B -- The more media platforms that take notice of you, the greater the exposure, the greater the chance to expand your audience. In order to successfully do this, you MUST do your homework.

11 Mistakes Every Young Band Makes
By Ari Herstand

How To Tame The Wild West Of Music Supervision
By Zach Miller -- Music supervision has roots dating back to silent films, when composers provided background music in the theaters during the showing. Now, the craft has evolved into a multifaceted profession with responsibilities that range from licensing, curation, and even producing.

A Simple Guide to Signing the Best Sync Deal Possible
Digital Music News -- The following is from our ongoing series, 'The 11 Contracts Every Artist, Songwriter, and Producer Should Know," by music industry attorney Steve Gordon. The series includes horrific contracts from hell that you should never, ever sign.

Artist Merchandising Made Simple
By Dan Servantes

Three Ways Musicians Can Stand Out On Social Media
By Bobby Moore -- Social media has become one of the most powerful self-promotional tools for all artists. But while many acts use social media like Facebook and Twitter to advertise new releases and upcoming shows, a few go the extra mile, upping their statuses as fan-friendly by interacting with others or posting clever content.

Before You Sample That Track, Please Read This...
By Wallace Collins -- Wallace Collins is an entertainment and intellectual property lawyer based in New York. He has been in the business for over 30 years...In this post he explains the basics of sample clearance.

"Sampling" Issues: Questions and Answers
By Wallace Collins

[Boy, this'll have you bouncing off the walls.]
75 Tips And Tricks To Get Your Music Out Of The Bedroom
By Rory Seydel -- Sometimes you need a little inspiration to kick start the process. Here are 75 light-bulb inducing ideas.

The Definitive Album Release Checklist: 18 Things You Have to Do Before You Even Start Promoting
By Brian Hazard

As Video Wars Heat Up, A New Way for Creators to Get Paid
By Davey Alba -- These days, making online videos has become a way for clever creators to make a full-time living—or at least some extra cash. And now they have another way to get paid.

The 3 Greatest Challenges For Indie Artists
By Vinny Ribas -- Contrary to popular belief, the biggest challenges that talented indie artists have do not stem from a lack of promotion or the state of the music industry in general.

IN MEMORANDUM

'Blues Can Never Die': B.B. King Reigned But Music Lives On
Ken By Ken Ritter -- B.B. King believed anyone could play the blues, and that "as long as people have problems, the blues can never die." But no one could play the blues like B.B. King, who died last month at age 89 in Las Vegas, where he had been in hospice care.

LISTEN 

How about some Turtles to celebrate the class action win against Spottily: Happy Together

VIDEO

Exclusive: Watch Brian Wilson Perform New Song...

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6502388/brian-wilson-runaway-dancer-capital-cities-video-live-sebu-no-pier-pressure-exclusive-premiereCached

Mar 17, 2015 ... Brian Wilson is prepping a new solo album, and Billboard has an exclusive ... one of its tracks with a very special guest -- Capital Cities' Sebu. ... Watch the video below, filmed for an upcoming episode of PBS' Soundstage: ...

PERFORMANCE

Old-Time Music at a Ranch? It's An American Idyll
By Carolina A. Miranda -- At a time when music is available everywhere — in cars, on computers, cellphones and MP3 players, as well as in countless bars, clubs and concert venues across Los Angeles — the idea of driving more than an hour and a half to a house concert in the middle of the Santa Clara River Valley might seem like the sort of thing only the most die-hard devotee would do. But there are other reasons to make the pilgrimage to Bunn's farm. [Thanks to Michelle Kay for the link.]

RECORDING

The Ultimate EQ Cheat Sheet for Every Common Instrument
By Aaron Staniulis

CRAFT OF SONGWRITING

‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Composer: ‘The First Time I Saw The Movie I Thought, This Is So Insane!’
By Frank DiGiacomo -- George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road is a two-hour white-knuckle adrenaline rush that sounds as feral and unpredictable as it looks. That's thanks to a score composed by Tom Holkenborg, 47, the Dutch musician producer and engineer also known as Junkie XL. … Holkenborg talked to Billboard about how he got the gig and worked closely with Miller to produce a movie and a score that, he says, "is like nothing out there."

Lyric Intelligence In Popular Music: A Ten Year Analysis
By Andrew Powell-Morse

Seventeen Writers Reveal Their Favorite Words — And Then Some.
The Guardian -- From plitter to drabbletail: the words we love [Thanks to By Levi Sumagaysay for the link].

Songwriter's Toolbox: Rhyming With Purpose, Part 2

Barbe McMillen's blog, The Craft of Songwriting

http://craftofsongwriting.blogspot.com/

Online Thesaurus and Rhyming Dictionary

http://www.rhymezone.com//

http://thesaurus.reference.com/

Great web tool for lyric writing

http://www.visualthesaurus.com/

Music Theory Resource

http://www.hooktheory.com/

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10. Song and Talent Contests

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

Next deadline - March 31st

A comprehensive list of Song Contests compliments of MusesMuse.com

http://www.musesmuse.com/muselinks/Songwriting/Contests/index.html

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11. Songwriting Resources -  Now accepting book reviews

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. Archives of Past Programs and Activities

DALLAS SONGWRITERS OLD WEBSITE WITH ARCHIVED LINKS TO PAST PROGRAMS
http://dallassongwriters.blogspot.com

SONGS FROM THE SOUL OF SERVICE

http://songssoulservice.blogspot.com/

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

URL:%20http://dallassongwriters.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-05-21T21_14_44-07_00

Read the latest story about this years winners

http://songssoulservice.blogspot.com/

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

  Songwriting Consulting Services

  Online Songwriting Workshops and Classes