I understand and agree with your entire post, but just wanted to add that I can relate to the cathartic aspect of writing, and the need to know when that is what it needs to be rather than a performed song. When we wrote "Living for Me", it was the first song we wrote (since 14 years ago with "Don't Be Thinkin"), that I really felt passionate about getting out -- of ME, not out THERE. I remember you asking me what songs I wanted to record first, and I kept skipping that one, and was almost afraid to admit that as much as I like the song, I felt it was already irrelevant personally. I didn't think I could sell it, as I had moved on emotionally. I realize that it is song that I very well may need to perform and record someday as it could be relevant in the future ... as it was the day we wrote it, and is universal. You agreed saying that when you have other songs that are speaking louder to you, you have to go with that voice if you expect anyone else to hear you. I was relieved that we were on the same page about that. I feel compelled to stress my agreement with you on the topic of cliche' unworkable premises, as it is so important to me in life in general, but especially in music. I think everyone is waiting to hear something that matters, or is just funny as hell, etc. yet doesn't divide us as people. Division is not what music is about. The very essense of music's survival is uniting. It remains "the universal language". It is the ultimate challenge writers face, and it is a worthy endeavor in my book. At least that is what I am aspiring to, and am thankful to have a mentor like you, Marc, to keep me on track!!
Hi all! Thanks for having me along! I'm new here but I will be reading and catching up on all of this soon! :D x
Hi all! Thanks for having me along! I'm new here but I will be reading and catching up on all of this soon! :D x
Did you explore your way here or did you follow the link?
Hi Simone! Welcome to the family!
phil g.
Well Helloooo New Folks!!!! I hope all you old farts are paying attention, but we are getting young nubile hot girls and guys coming around, so make sure you come out and say hello!
THE NEW ROOKIE CREW
Simone was the Austrailian woman that spent some time with me on a tour a few weeks ago. She and her boyfriend Todd, are from Melbourne and both are great folks. They did those things that Aussie's seem to do and take off on these seven week, six month,two year vacations, and see the world. They ended up in New York that they loved then made it to Nashville. I thnk we passed our audition, if nothing else to show them that Memphis was scary in places. Even had a cop to tell them to get out of that town, LOL! Had a great time with them. So glad you are here Simone.
It's funny when you get a really cute couple with those cool accents. Just love to hear them talk!
RiDawn, is one of my favorite people to work with because she is so excited about everything. You usually get very burned out in this town, by music. You just get worn down because it never seems to go anywhere. RiDawn is very talented, even more than she gives herself credit for. She is a very good artist as well as singer, so we are getting her to explore that as well. She and our friend Alice Bargeron have some really unique music related art, paintings, sculputres, that are really cool and unlike anything I have seen. I hope to be promoting them on my web site soon.
My biggest thing with RiDawn is almost a "Professor Henry Higgins" thing is that I want her to show what she can do. She has been around for a long time in town but never been able to show people what she can do as much as she can. She has always taken a back seat in her career as life or whatever got in her way, and her friends don't take her as seriously as they should as far as wanting to write with her, get her into writer's rounds, etc.
That is all about to change.
Jarod Nichols is our lawyer/singer from Birmingham. He is brand new, about two years into doing this for real and three months with me. He is going through the first growing pains of getting out, performing and having to write songs at a higher level than he has ever thought about before. Think of Justin Two years ago.That's where you have with Jarod. What is it with these guys with "J" names? When you write by yourself, there are no boundries, no critical assessment, no rules. When you start getting around other people, doing open mics, writers shows, or trying to make forays into a town like Nashville, it all changes. Even if you just want to step out and see what's out there, you suddenly realize it is ALL DIFFERENT than what you thought it was. Those six minute songs suddenly feel like twenty minutes.You hear other people drone on and on and you start looking at your own songs. You have to wait longer and longer to get onstage because other people drone on and on. You're own songs don't get the reactions you thought they would. Those things you thought HAD TO BE ON THE RADIO and you JUST HAD TO GET THEM SOMEWHERE, are actually just kind of average takes on average ideas, that pretty much everyone else is doing the same way.
All this comes and you feel like everything title you want to write has been done forever, you bore yourself, and get unendingly frustrated and thinking you totally suck! We all beat ourselves up all the time. Don't worry, it passes. You will bore many other people before you are done!
Jarod is at that stage, and is starting to get exposed to all of it. He will be back up here soon and I will be able to get into MARINE DRILL INSTRUCTOR mode. Having him running up and down the driveway with four guitars on his back, is somewhat rewarding to me. I love to torture lawyers!!! LOL!
Those are our NEWBIES.
I hope you Veterans will come out and continue to say hi and maybe ask them some questions. You gotta help me out here. Now Newbies, here are what you have to do:
We have designed this as a VERY INTEREACTIVE forum. I answer every questionan and try to tie it into a lesson plan, because there are other people with your same experiences reading along. As you are all on your journey, you are finding that one question, only leads to other questions, ASK THEM!!!
You are among friends here. Everyone here wants to be. They have all endured my grilling and all have worked with me in one way or another. Even ones that have never physically made the trip, might have experience with not only me, but the real world of writing. Many have never been around a lot of writers but have been through a ton of the web sites. That have learned a lot of what THEY DON'T WANT TO BE INVOLVED WITH. So they come here to try and find out what they WANT TO BE INVOLVED WITH.
We try to give it to them. We avoid any negativity. (Except for me talking about the realities of the music business. But there is always a ROPE OF HOPE.) WE don't get into polititcs. We don't get into ragging on someone without making sure they know we are joking. Some times we get off subject and it gets really silly.
Stay involved. Read along every couple of days. The conversations and subject matter are usually very practical. You can learn things about your own writing styles and subject matter through other people's journey's. You can find out things about performing, networking, the business, that other people just don't know. If you are making a trip, going out to network and perform, learn the things to do and most importantly, WHAT NOT TO DO, before you get a chance to make that BAD FIRST IMPRESSION.
But we move pretty fast. A page or two a day. So stay involved, read along, ask questions.
Enjoy. Glad to have you hear.
MAB
RiDawn- why is your font so small?
Hi Simone!
All...great following along. Always an interesting forum.
A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME
RiDawn has mentioned a song we wrote called "Tonight I'm Living for Me" and how she has evolved past it. It is a good example of what I call "A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME" and how most of our songs go by the wayside,as life, our moods, experience, and things around us change. As a writer we should all be WRTING. It is great to learn, do research, song study, etc. but the physical WRITING of songs, particularly CO-WRITING is how we learn.
RiDawn came to me after about a 13 year absence. We had known each other a long time ago, then as life gets in the way, had not seen each other. She got married, has step kids, is a caregiver for her Mother, is doing a lot of things, and so it has been hard to focus on music. When she started coming out to some of my shows, she actually contacted me and asked if I could work with her some. I really liked that because first, I require that people approach ME if they are really serious about doing things. Then FOLLOWING THROUGH. Most people get together once or possibly even twice, then fade out, usually as they realize how had this stuff really is.
Then I could achieve a number of things. First I could get some songs written and help a really good friend that I care about. I could show her and her husband (who is a great bass player and overall musician) some things to do to get her moving forward, present herself around town and showcase what she does. Thereby tweaking some of the people that I think should be a little nicer in how they treat other people. Then, I could use her as sort of a "labaratory assistant" with some of my tour clients. Having a more flexible schedule than most of my artists, she could come over in short notice, and we could write with them, showing them what it takes to write for an artist, dealing with moods, dealing with them having certain songs in their cataloge, so having to change your subject matter, dealing with multiple people in a co-write. And RiDawn could get some new songs for her catalogue. Enormous WIN WIN.
But first I had to get RiDawn up to speed and to do that we had to write the first song. That was "This Time I'm Living For Me." When I work with artists, I first have to get them to get what is bothering them off their chest. With her it was that bottled up feeling of starting and stopping, the frustrations of not being able to focus on what she would like to, the back log of emotions and physical manifestations that she needed. Having known her for a while, knowing her vocal range, and tempo/attitudes, plus knowing her personality made it very easy. The tune came out in about a half hour, and of course, the tears flowed freely. Luckily the ever ready box of Kleenex is always nearby.
With newer writers, particularly women, once you get them going they will unleash a barrage of emotions. Women think more emotionally which is why their songs are usually so emotionally based. And often, ANGRY. My job is to funnel that into a positive area, and show them how to use their real life in a way that gets reality based, and conversational songs. Anger sucks, and a wasted emotion in songs unless you funnel it in certain ways.
But often the Cathartic nature of songs doesn't mean those are what you want to showcase you. Thus, the GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME. I am glad she said what she said on the forum,because I want everyone to understand the mindset of the artist, what they go through and how they change. Writing with them, you have to navigate those changes. I, like RiDawn, believe the song was a good idea at the time, and now we have much better songs. She has written with myself and Phil, Dani Jamerson, Gail Carson, and soon will be many others. Her moods have changed and is much more self aware, positive and on a great career track. I am very excited about working with her when I can.
And it is different because while she is an artist, we are not shooting for that young persons' record deal. She is going to be performing mostly around town or with bands her husband puts together and will be having personal growth. and I hope she does a TON OF MY SONGS!
Now how all this manifests itself on a NATIONAL LEVEL, is in the case of KENNY CHESNEY. I knew Kenny and Tim McGraw when they were the "drunk Fraternity brothers" at writer's shows we did in town. They were both pretty new, hung around all the time, and would always be in the back of the room, talking very loudly during our writer's nights.They were the kinds of guys you see at Fraternity parties, always hanging around the keg, always nearly falling down, but never quite, and always very loud. Their voices would carry over the rest of the performers (except me, of course) and they never realized it. Neither ever played that I saw, but had a lot of thing going on. Frankly it was like we see thousands and thousands of times in this business. Tall good looking athelete type, and shorter,side kick. I would have NEVER thought either of them would acheive what they have, but I miss them sometimes. Missed Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift too. But hey,I did work with Thelma Lynne Moody. And we ALL know how that turned out. LOL!
At any rate, Kenny goes on and does what he has done which is an amazing story in itself. He has hung on longer and probably higher than just about anyone in Country music history. And no signs of slowing. But he has gone thorough a lot of artist's changes. He started out like all artists with the drinking, party, "bro-country" songs. Love songs, danceable songs, etc. He has great song sense and picks very well. And doesn't write that much. Sometimes that is important because you can be more objective. But I digress.
About nine years ago, Kenny married a Hollywood Actress, Rene Zellwinger. This was a marraige made in HELL, and while I undestand it, who would NOT like to be married to a VERY HOT HOLLYWOOD ACTRESS, GO TO ALL THOSE PARTIES, AND POSSIBLY GET YOURSELF IN A COUPLE OF MOVIES. Great career move. But all these things between celebrities are very difficult, and usually over very quickly. Ask Kanye and Kim, or Taylor Swift and anyone she has ever dated. Or any one of the music related relationships I've been involved in. The current bass player in the band, Boston would be a good one to ask if you ever catch her on tour.
So this thing flames out in a few months and they both went on with their lives. Kenny retreated to the Islands and lived for a while as a beach bum on various places. As you probably know, when you start getting around those places, suddenly you are hanging out, drinking, sitting on the beach, and become a total SLUG!!! It's why the call it VACTION!!!
Kenny, who is also a pretty smart businessdude, and he figured he could use this as a way to capture the unbeliveably lucrative JIMMY BUFFET PARROT HEAD NATION. This perinally summer group are millions of dedicated Buffet fans, who follow him like lemmings every year, go to all his concerts, buy all his merchandise, and have turned a song about a tequila drink into a two BILLION dollar empire. Every artist wants that crowd.
KENNY GOT IT.
He came out with his album, NO SHIRT, NO SHOES, NO PROBLEM, and it all worked. The songs hit those Carribean feelings everyone has inside and before long, everyone had their toes in the sand!!! And of course, it spurned an entire wave like Zac Brown and others. It was a wave and Kenny was right there in front, riding it.
He did huge summer stadium tours and even did things with Buffet. About this same time BUFFET HIMSELF, has hnis own first NUMBER ONE song, "IT'S FIVE OCLOCK SOMEWHERE", duet with Alan Jackson (Written by Don Rawlings, who got my job at Warner Chappel Music, told you there is always an MAB connection) and the "Carribean country movement was in full swing. Everywhere you went you heard that same stuff, and of course that led into the "Bro-Country" stuff that we all hear now, with tailgates, trucks, down by the river, watching my girl,named GURL, down the country road....." You know that one.
Kenny, being the astute business dude he is, saw this coming and shifted directions. Three years ago, insiders in town, song pluggers,publishers, hit writers, started getting the notices "NO MORE BEACH SONGS. NO MORE TEQUILA, NO MORE SAND IN THE SHOES." And all the Chesney pitches started being weeded out. If you had someone still pitching those songs or you were writing them because "You GOTTA GET THAT TO CHESNEY!!"
NO. YOU DON'T.
All those songs became GOOD IDEAS AT THE TIME.
Phil, this is part of what the "good songpluggers" know and act on. And why most pitches are completely wasted. Those artists have already done that and are on to something else. This is why it is so impossible for outside writers to get cuts. You are trying to catch a plane that has already left the runway, is in the air, and half way to it's destination. You are BEHIND the curve. Your songs were GOOD IDEAS AT THE TIME.
So what to do? WRITE WITH ARTISTS.
But be aware that a lot of them, particularly the younger ones, ARE BEHIND THE CURVE ALSO. They are usually only patterning themselves after who is out there currently. Go to YOU TUBE, and google the latest Taylor Swift song. Then look to the right of that video. You will see columns and columns of dozens, hundreds and THOUSANDS of young girls, their camera phone videos, doing EXACTLY THE SAME SONG! The only thing it shows is that they are NOT TAYLOR SWIFT and are easily influenced.
As a writer you CAN'T WRITE FOR TRENDS. Because trends change on a dime, (you think.) Actually trends have a career arc of about three years. For a year, they will be building in the Nashville writers rooms, and stages, publishing companies,record labels. Writers will all have similar songs. There will be new acts launched at showcases,the Country radio seminar.The spring releases will come out and most will dissapear.Then one, two or three new hot acts will come out. The Next Lady Antibellum, Band Perry, or Florida Georgia Line, will hit like a monster,hit the road with a major artist, their video will be everywhere, their song will explode everywhere you listen, will be played on all the radios, CD players at the beaches, the lakes, the rivers, in the bars, it will be the karaoke track of the month, and you will see it on t-shirts, bumper stickers, hats. It becomes a PHENOMON.
All the publishing companies will start saying 'Bring me one of those..." And their A&R staff will have a dozen groups, songs and vehicles already in their development rosters.
You will hear five,ten, twenty songs exacly like that. When it comes to "Bro Country" they use the exact same words.
But what the "outsiders" don't realize is that the Nashville people were hearing this a year before the public does. We hear those showcases, hear them at the Bluebird. Play with them at Frank Brown. By the time the wave hits, we are already sick of them. So it builds for a year, is on top for a year, then starts to descend for a year. And the amateur and outside writers, keep writing and bringing in the same songs. They play them on open mics and everyone says "Hey, you gotta get that to Chesney!!!!" Sure. And a monkey needs to fly out of my butt! Would be interesting but painful. Let it fly out of someone else's butt.
But you will have a bunch of GOOD IDEAS AT THE TIME. TIME TO WRITE MORE SONGS.
MAB
Ewww Peggy. Are you sure you want to go there? How much reality do you want? Okay, I guess it is time to cover the CONTEST side of the equation. Get some coffee, sit down and get ready. Here it comes. Glad you are here. If any of you have questions, best to ask them now. I'm in the mood and Tina is not mad at me yet.
MAB
Tina, on my screen, my font type seems the same as MAB's -- Phil and Simmone's look small on mine, but I can see them. Let me know if this is still seeming tiny ....
CONTESTS, THE GOOD, THE BAD OR THE UGLY.
Peggy, the question you ask has a REAL PERSONAL componant. Once upon a time, I was a rock star. At least in my mind. I started playing music in Birmingham at 14 years old, when I stepped on a stage at my future High School, TARRANT HIGH SCHOOL in Tarrant City Alabama. I had been called by Ray Parker, the guy who was like my brother at the time. We hung out all the time, did elementry school things. Including dismantleing a car down to only the front bench seat in 8th Grade Shop class. Around that seat, a bunch of us sat around doing doo wop songs. I didn't even know I could sing, but became the lead. I ended up leaving that school and going to another one, but Ray caught up with me on Christmas Eve, 1973 asking me to be in his band. The next Friday, March 17th, at 1:00 in the
afternoon, I stepped on stage singing Mac Davis's "I BELIEVE IN MUSIC', and my life changed as women went crazy. That was all I needed. My two former careers dissapeared, Football, which I had wanted to play, could get you hit, hard, and the Military (I wanted to be an Army Ranger, you know those guys who go behind enemy lines) COULD GET YOU KILLED! This was an easier way to meet women.
Over the next few years it was all music. I learned to play bass, and was pretty good. I was always the lead singer. That band, BITTERSWEET was a good local band, taking second in our first battle of the bands, contest. From there, we morphed into 24 KARAT, when a tall, very attractive African American guy, JESSI LEWIS approached me at one of our shows, telling me to "fire the guitar player, get him in the band and actually learn how to do this." Think Denzel Washington, and you have Jessi. He was tall, great looking and more charisma than anyone I had ever met. He completely changed my life, and we went to writing real songs, and rehearsing 6 nights a week about 5 hours a night. If he had not died in a car accident, we would be saying "President Jessi Lewis" not President Barak Obama. Because they were JUST ALIKE. When I see the President, I think "I've seen all this before". He could sell igloos to Eskimos.
WE changed, and people quit, Especially Ray, who had always been the leader of our bands. Now he was outclassed and simply gave up. He thought I would quit with him since we were so close. I didn't. Took him years to forgive me but to this day regrets ever doing that. Because we became really huge in Birmingham and throughout the Southeast. Jessi pushed us to limits of endurance, performance, writing. He taught me more about being a musician than anyone I ever knew. And he replaced me at bass because I couldn't sing and play at the same time. That REALLY hurt my feelings at first because I was a pretty damn good bass player.Like that other left handed bassist, Paul McCartney, I thought in very melodic bass lines, and really added a lot to our band. Just couldn't do it live. So I just became the lead singer since I had a better voice than I was a player. And we did REALLY WELL.
THE CONTEST POINT OF THIS!
Then we heard about a contest being sponsored by our local rock radio station, I -95. It was called the MILLER HIGH LIFE ROCK TO RICHES NATIONAL TALENT SEARCH. It was pretty famous, all over MTV, all over the airwaves. It was 62 regions in the US, Northwest. Southeast, Midwest, West Coast, Northeast. All local radio stations would have their own album, (an actual record in those days), would pick ten of the local artists, put them on that record, it went into stores (we had RECORD STORES in those days) and all would get radio airplay. Inside the album would be a ballot, voting for your favorite artist. So you had to BUY the record.
This contest had been going on for three years and we had heard of a couple of the participants. In 1981, a group called TWISTED SISTER had come in second. In 1982 a guy named JON BON JOVI came in second. In 1983, a group named 'JON BUTCHER AXIS, kind of a Jimi Hendrix hard rock trio, had come in second. Funny, the SECOND PLACE PEOPLE always went on to great fame and fortune. Never heard of any of the winners. I'll get to that in a minute.
So this was a big deal.
Taking one of the songs that Ray had written, STAY WITH ME, we went to Atlanta to record. In Atlanta, there was a big studio called WEB IV. That was owned by PAUL DAVIS, the guy who would go on to great country classics, like "COOL NIGHT, 65 LOVE AFFAIR and many others. But his main huge hit was a country and pop standard, I GO CRAZY. That had built his studio and as usual our leader, Jessi, had wormed his way into that because he got to know Paul and a group that recorded at his studio, KANSAS.
We went over and I was introduced to the engineer, ED SEAY. Ed had produced Marie Osmond, engineered on Kansas, ISSAC HAYES, and many other enormous hit acts. So he was like a celebrity. The first I would ever work with.
SIDE BAR
We spent all weekend working on two songs. We recorded all the tracks, guitars,keyboards, on Friday and all day Saturday, and around 1:00 in the morning, they finally let me START my vocals. About 3:00 I was still singing and they were all in the control booth. As we listened to play backs and no one was saying ANYTHING TO ME, I got pissed and bored. I noticed I was standing next to the dial that controlled the lights in the main room of the studio, where I was.So while I watched all them ignore me in the control booth, I very slowly turned the lights down till it was totally dark in my room. No one even paid the least attention. So I took off all my clothes, and turned the lights back up very slowly. They kept talking and finally all look up at me, standing there in my birthday suit. At once they all disspeared as they fell off their chairs onto the floor laughing their butts off. Took about twenty minutes to get going agin.
Fifteen years later, I am sitting at a showcase at Douglas Corner in Nashville. A very attractive woman sitting behind me passes me this bar napkin note. On it, it reads, "Are you still singing in the nude?" I turn around and it is ED SEAY,who has been one of the top producers and engineers in Nashville for years. We had a great laugh and talked after the show.
And the punch line
On Monday, I am producing a session on some of my songs written with a band from Birmingham. I just found out the engineer on that session is....you guessed it...ED SEAY!!!!
OKAY, BACK TO THE CONTEST STUFF
That record got us on the ROCK TO RICHES ALBUM. And oddly enough, we won our region. We went to Atlanta to perform live and did a show with BACHMAN TURNER OVERDRIVE. Actually, at that point it was more like BACHMAN TURNER OVERWEIGHT, since the entire band weighed about 400 pounds each. I think they have all gone on Weight Watchers since.
Boom! We found ourselves in Los Angeles, California for a week of hanging out and being rock stars. We were limoed all over the place, had one of those ROOFTOP PRESS PARTIES. Ever see the movie "This is Spinal Tap?" That scene where they are at the tour end party on the roof of this big hotel? That is the SUNSET HYATT HOTEL (also known as the Sunset Riot because Joe Walsh and Keith Moon would destroy hotel rooms, throw televisions in the swimming pool and drive cars into the lobby. Every major artist would stay there. So much that one night we heard a lot of girl's screaming down below us. Being the egotist I always am, we went out on our balcony and waved.
We found out the next morning that it was BILLY IDOL four floors below us, coming out naked on his balcony. I guess he heard about my singing episode and was trying to take it to the next level. LOL!
We played a club called "THE CENTRAL" which ended up later being the VIPER ROOM, owned by Johny Depp, where River Pheonix died on the sidewalk in front of it after overdosing on a speed ball just like John Belushi. We got see a great site when we were at a red light in our limo and a group of hot looking California blondes,pulled up next to us in a red mustang. On their radio was our song, STAY WITH ME, and those girls were singing along at the top of their lungs. We were screaming our selves but wanted to be really cool so we didn't roll our windows down. Man, we missed an opportunity that time!!!!
We were taken all over the town, great resturants. Got to see some shows and played real celebrities. I met Robin Williams on the street next to our hotel. It was in front of the COMEDY STORE the top comedy club. We caught the Tuesday night OPEN MIC. The comedians on that night were Robin, Jay Leno, Sam Kenison, Paul Rodrigeus. It was ASTOUNDING. They were all onstage,trying out new material a bunch of which I would see over the next few months and a few that made it on to Saturday night Live.
We were taken to record companies, publishing companies, and were touted to be the NEXT BIG THING in music. I thought we had hit the big time. The ending of one night, I was driven to the top of this big mountain. The guy driving, Scott, a friend from Birmingham, made me keep my eyes closed. It seemed to take forever. Then he said, "Open your eyes."
I did. And in front of me was ALL LOS ANGELES! Incredible. Lights that went on forever! I could see everything for miles and miles. The most beautiful sight I had ever seen. I was right above the HOLLYWOOD SIGN at Griffith Park. If you ever saw REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE with James Dean, this is where that was.
I was a ROCK STAR!!!!!!
The next night was the live show at THE PALACE theater. This is a HUGE club, directly across the street from the CAPITOL RECORD BUILDING. That is the one that looks like a stack of records. THAT WAS THE BEATLES AND FRANK SINATRA'S label. The Palace, is one of the old style HOLLYWOOD theaters. Was a movie palace back in the 20's and 30's. If you have ever seen the movie AGAINST ALL ODDS or a lot of PHIL COLLINS videos, that is the setting. A big movie set for big club scenes.
So we were in Hollywood and going crazy. The show, that night was the four main bands to play 20 minutes, then the closing act, NIGHT RANGER, would close then announce the winner. MTV was there. Entertainment Tonight was there. Cameras were everywhere. The audience, about three thousand people, were screaming all over the place. One of the bands, Brighton, was from LA and were local hometown heroes. It was kind of a forgone conclusion that they would win everything. This included an MCA recording contract, $50,000 in sound equipment, guitars and other instruments from RICKENBACKER, all the beer you wanted (MILLER BEER WAS THE MAIN SPONSOR) and a LOT of press and hoopla. We were underdogs.
We were last to go on. I think they went by Alphabet and I guess we were last but whatever. The emcee, was FATHER QUIDO SARDUCI, from Satruday Night, and his intro went "AND NOWA FROM A BIRMINGHAMA ALAMABA....24 KARATAAAAAA!!!! The huge curtian rolled up into the sky. And along with it,the microphone stand from Jessi.
We were off and running. For the next 20 minutes we rocked with an absolute vengence and passion that only guys from the South can do. WE WERE MAGNIFICENT! LOL!
Actually we did. We had hot songs, we all looked good, we sounded good. If you remember the bands of the 80';s like Journey and Loveboy, that was us. Five piece, drums, guitar,bass, keyboards, me on vocals. We kicked a WHOLE LOT OF BUTT!!! I even said it in my first yell at the audience as the first song kicked off, "HEY LOS ANGELES, WE ARE 24 KARAT FROM BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA AND WE ARE HERE TO KICK SOME ASS!!!!" And we did. And the crowed swarmed the stage. It was just like yuo see in the movies, all kinds of people crushed against the stage, hands in the air, REALLY HOT GIRLS scantily clothed, it was like all the rock star videos you saw in those days. We were a hair band, except I didn't have long hair. Our bass player, Buddy, who was kind of a Van Halen nut, did, spandex and bandanas everywhere, our Keyboard player Yance Hall, all four foot five of him, with those huge keyboards around him, looked like his hero, Johnathon Cain from Journey were the long haired guys. The drummer, Barry Dobbins (the holdover from BITTERSWEET), and of course Jessi, in leather pants and rocking black silk shirt, doing his Eddie Van Halen shredder guitar parts. I was in a white jacket, black leather pants and hat great hat that kind of looked like Crocidile Dundee. Don't know who thought up that outfit, had bought it that day from some high priced store on Rodeo drive.
But we were on FIRE!!!! Everything worked. I was hitting notes that I think drove every dog in the neighborhood crazy. I had 6000 pairs of eyes on me and I stared them right back down. Especially the hotties who were everywhere!
And we had ONE MORE TRICK UP OUR SLEEVE.
Somewhere along the way, I had discovered that our song, Stay With Me, had a part in it that mirrored the current Miller Beer slogan,"Welcome to Miller Time." That theme song was everywhere, on all the commercials, had been a top commercial during the Super Bowl, which had been a month before, this was March of 1984. March 17th, to be exact. St. Patricks Day, ten years to the day before I first stepped on stage. I just realized that. Weird!
So I came up with idea to end our song, break it into a drum solo, and I woudl sing "WELCOME, TO MILLER TIME, IT'S ALL YOURS... IT'S ALL MINE!!!!! BRING YOUR THIRSTY SELF RIGHT HERE, YOU GOT, THE ONE YOU HAD IN MIND, WELCOME, TO MILLER TIME!!!!!" That was the commerical. And DAMN WE WERE GOOD!!!! I am kind of joking, but we really were on our game 150% that night. Even some Hollywood celebrities, like Dianne Cannon (who I was IN LOVE WITH!!! WHY COULDN'T MY ROCK STAR STATUS PAY OFF THAT NIGHT??????) and Dan Hartman. (Instant Replay and bass player with the EDGAR WINTER GROUP), who were judges on the contest, were blown away. They were all over us, taking pictures (which I can't find anywhere) and just having a great time. We were in the food room backstage and all the other groups were congratulating us.
Night Ranger played and then in what seemed like slow motion, Father Guido said "ANDA THE WINNER....IS 24 AH KARAT!!!!!" The crowd went crazy and so did we. We came out, accepted a trophy about the size of the Stanley Cup, thanked everyone and began our all night revelry. Don't remember a lot about that, and don;t need to go into it, lets just say I really lived the rock star life for a while. I do remember that among the crowd was my Dad, my stepbrother Billy and step sister Susie, whom I had not seen in 20 years. Was quite the non-family reunion. A lot of fun.
Afterward we signed the contract, were all over the place, did intereviews, press conferences and two days later loaded back on the plane to Birmingham. On the flight the pilot announced we were on, and we signed autographs all over the place and had pictures take with the whole plane. I didn't know it at the time, but my Dad was sitting next to the woman who would become my fifth stepmother. When we got back there were about a thousand people at the airport. We were THE BEATLES!
For the next few months, we rode the rock star bandwagon. We did shows all over, our song (the one we had recorded for the contest) was on the radio, I got a left handed, 4001 Rickenbacker bass guitar, like Paul McCartney's, got free meals in resturants, did television and radio shows, another show with BTO, and had a great time.
But we noticed another interesting thing. There was really no support from the label,no meetings, no promotion, no tour, nothing. We were kind of on our own. And after a while, the beer started running out. That REALLY PISSED US OFF. We couldn't get anyone from MCA to return our calls. Finally we had a band meeting to find out what had happened. Our lawyer/manager told us something he knew, but didn't want to tell us. THERE WAS NO PROMOTION. there was NO TOUR. And it was ALL IN THE CONTRACT WE HAD SIGNED TO GET INTO THE CONTEST IN THE FIRST PLACE.
It was simply for a single that we had already paid for, a bunch of prizes, and then THEY WERE ON TO THE NEXT CONTEST. We were last years heroes. And the contract went on FOR EIGHT YEARS. We couldn't record with anyone else, couldn't do anything else. We were damaged goods. HASBEENS. Overnight successes and failures.
WELCOME TO CONTESTS.
THE MORAL TO THE STORY
We sued to get OUT of the contract we had gotten into. The three record deals we had been offered BEFORE WE WON were off the table. We were 24 KARAT WHO? This was why you never heard from the winners. They were tied into a no where record deal, and yesterday's news.
THIS IS ALL CONTESTS!!!!!!
Contests are about a lot of publicity, building interest IN THE CONTEST. The businesses that promote them get attention and look like they are really doing great. It is ADVERTISING. And gets them into a YOUTH MARKET. They have unending talent who are all trying to make it. After they are over THEY ARE OVER. and it is on to the next contest.
The Miller contest ended a year later and they were on to different advertisements. The people involved in the promotion for MCA were reassigned and on to other things. The $25,000 we TURNED DOWN from Welk Publishing, went to someone else. I got a bass guitar I didn't play and some sound equipment that never worked. We traded everything for something else. Yeah.
Years later, I was in Nashville playing a show and Jon Bon Jovi was in the audience. I mentioned the contest and he got this huge grin on his face. After I finished my set, he waved me over and asked me to sit down. The first words out of his mouth were "They got you didn't they?" The deal was that he already had a record deal before the main show. He had gotten a lot of publicity out of the contest but between the time he entered and the finals, he had gotten and signed a deal with Mercury Polygram. But they didn't want to lose him for the publicity it would bring so it was arranged that he would COME IN SECOND. We were offered the same deal, but we didn't know it at the time.
GEFFIN RECORDS had been willing to sign us THE DAY BEFORE THE CONTEST. JESSI SAID "NO." Guess he didn't know everything.
So Peggy, ALL CONTESTS ARE LIKE THIS. The reason you have seen so much from AMERICAN IDOL is that the publicity is huge. But in 12 years, there are actually only about 12 winners who have gone on to huge success. Kelly Clarkson, who was first, Carrie Underwood, who went for country instead of rock, Jennifer Hudson, who won an Oscar for ACTING, and weight watchers, Daughtry, who was about number SIX, and a few others here and there. The majority are answers to a triva question. "name the season five AI contestant who had weird hair and name.
Answer: SANJAIA!!!!!
On the "songwriting front." It is the same. Matt Casey, our member who we haven;t heard from in a while, Wags, also haven't heard from in a while, won this year's NSAI contest. A lot of hoopla, a great night in Nashville being featured on a big show, a lot of hoopla, some money, I think and I believe Matt got his trip to Nashville paid for. I am not sure al lthe particulars. But will that song, "Plain White Tee" go on to do much? I don't know. but I don't hold out a lot of hope.
The reason is that contest songs are judged AGAINST the other contest songs. Not the industry. You might have a really strong contest song, but doesn't hold water against the latest Chesney or Jason Aldeen song. They are just not going to be the same as the songs Craig Wiseman or Jeffery Steele, or with all due humility, even I, write almost every day. And professionals are DISQUALIFIED from participating in contests. I actually caused a rule to be re-written in an NSAI contest once. You can't have had a major label cut, or publishing deal. so you are not competing with the industry. Hit songs don't come from there. Name for me a contest song, even the American Idol contest, that you have ever heard from.
ARE THEY WORTH IT?
This is the big question. This has been an UNSUFFERINGLY LONG POST. I realize this. I did it for two reasons. First, Iam redoing my own book, FRESHMAN YEAR IN NASHVILLE and may be using that story to illustrate this point. You have just become a chapter, Peggy. Congratulations. No money though. LOL! You just won a contest! LMAO!
The second is that like everything in the music business, there is a LOT TO IT. And the more you know, the less you want to know. I wanted you to know that I have been through this, the experience I have had and why I think like I do.
Did I have a great time? ABSOLUTELY!!! And I still use it on my resume. Did I get some stuff? Absolutely! Was it worth it? Jury is out. Wish I had turned down winning the contest, and tuned into the other offers. Had that happened I would have NEVER LEFT LA. And WOULD NOT BE HERE. Would not have the greatest life in the world.
Hey, I met the BEAUTIFUL TINA THROUGH A CONTEST!!!! That should tell you enough. Are they worth it? Sure is a lot of fun!
But did it make (or break) my career? No. If you really are doing this, you do it. You rise above the hard times, or what doesn't work out. You keep moving.
Should you enter song contests? You have to decide that. But do this:
FIND OUT ABOUT THEM. Read the rules.
DON'T ENTER YOUR BEST SONGS. Do something great, But don't do your best. but of course, you will ALWAYS WRITE MORE SONGS!
FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED WITH PREVIOUS WINNERS. Find out who won last year, find out their web site or email and send them a message.
GO FOR IT! If you want to. If it is the only avenue, WHAT'S THE HARM?
They are a nessasary evil. Have a good time, but don't get too caught up in them. Like everything, DON'T PUT YOUR EGGS ALL IN ONE BASKET.
TRY NOT TO SUCK.
MAB
Mab,
I was going to say, you need to write a book and then you said you were. You really have a way with telling stories. Very interesting. Even though you got screwed in the contest, sounds like it was a once in a lifetime experience.
I have to say that I was surprised to hear you say to go for it. I understand not giving your best song so it for some reason it gets tied up you still have your best to do something else
I will have to give some thought to another question for you. You did so well on that one you may need to rest for a while. LOL
Peggy (can't seem to get this font to stay large) Dont even have the option on my phone to change it, but on the computer I change it and have to keep changeing it back again.)
I put a song on open mic and I plan to put a few more on in the next week.
Peggy,
I don't nessasarily say "go for it." If it were me now, knowing what I know, I would avoid it like the plague. I was just relating my experiences, to let you know, I have personal experiences in pretty much all these situations. To me, ANY contest are basically for amateurs, and I never really considered myself an amateur. I devoted my life to learning and practicing the craft and have always derived a pretty substantial portion of my livelyhod from that craft. I would say that any contest is fleeting in it's scope and fairly limited in it's benefits.
On me being "Ripped off" , I don't really consider that either. I learned a LOT. Basically to never do contests again. But it is part of what you go through. Almost every hit writer I know has had some dealing with one or another. I know of a dozen hit artists right now that never even made it past the first judging of American Idol. Frankie Ballard was turned down within about 20 seconds. And he is a number one recording artist.
If you go into anything with your eyes open, you can use it to your advantage. If it forced you to try and write a competitive song, get it well recorded, forced you to be on top of your game, get out there, be around other writers, what have you lost? Even if you don't win anything, it forced you to get outside of yourself.
And there are other benefits to contests. the NSAI contest has about 5000 entrants each year. At $35 each that runs into quite a bit of money. That pays for people such as myself and many others to go to Washington DC, to lobby Congress on behalf of songwriter's rights and creative content laws. So everyone benefits from that.
The contest I met Tina on (I was a prize) benefitted the local battered woman's shelter. Raised around $40,000 for the shelter.
I have seen them benefit Cancer, Lukemia, other diseases and research. So like everything I can't whole handedly condem them. They do have benefits.
But is it going to make anyone a hit writer or artist? None of them have yet. As I said, when it comes to contests, they are just not picked that way. Although in some contests I have seen, they have some known artists record the song. After hearing a lot of the entrants, it is probably the last song the artist ever records.
The people who participate in them are usually not very good. I judged a half dozen of them over the years. You get fifty or a hundred packages at a time,and have to start listening. The first ten or so, you listen to most of the song. Then you get to where you listen to a verse and a chorus. Then you get smart, read the lyrics, and the first couple of lines. Most make you turn off at the intro. And sometimes you will see the same names over and over. There are some people that do nothing but enter contests. Their songs are always universally horrible, eight and nine minute plodding pieces of non sense. If you get the latest issue of AMERICAN SONGWRITER, you will see their 1st through 5th place winners in their contest. And the winner always takes two pages to get the lyrics on. How many six verse, three different choruses, two bridges, a spoken word part, all done in about an 8 minute time frame songs on the radio? At least AMERICAN PIE, had one chrous you could sing along with.
So when you are listening to HUNDREDS of these things, and you find something that times in UNDER five minutes, you get pretty excited. I have NEVER, NOT ONCE, in 37 years of being involved in all of this, can REMEMBER one that I have heard past when I heard it. That really backed up on me one time.
I was in Orange County California for a three week period one time. I wrote with about 35 people in that time and one was this guy who was just playing me his songs. He was trying to figure out which one to submit to this contest. They all pretty much sucked, but one was not vomitatious. I explained that none of them were that great but that was his best one. I figured I would never hear from him.
About six months later, I am involved in this same contest (didn't remember him), and it was not a song I got as a judge. Some other got that honor. Well, he was one of ten people that were flown to Nashville to attend a recording session and have their song played at the Bluebird. The guy who did it that year was Gary Talley, and Gary, who was the guitar player and founder of the BOX TOPS, had a tough time with it. He stumbled around on it and really kind of wanked it. The song was not that good, but it was one of the top ten. I felt sorry for Gary and the guy. Oh well.
A year later I WAS ONE OF THE PRIZES and I was the one voted to play a song at the Bluebird. I got the song in advance to learn it and was shocked to hear how poorly written it was. I had trouble learning it because it kind of drifted all over the place, no difinable chorus, and nothing really memorable about the verses. When it came time for the show, THAT SAME GUY HAD WRITTEN THE SONG! Now it was MY TURN to wank it at the Bluebird. I had practiced that thing over and over and thought I had it but I SUCKED at the Bird. The only "saving grace" was that they let me play one of mine as well so I kind of redeemed myself. but I felt sorry that the same guy had been embarrised two years in a row. But in reality he should have saved his money entering contests, and took some songwriting lessons.
So that is about it. Contests are something we all do in one way or another. The Music business itself is a contest. Or more of a casino slot machine. You put your money in and hope you get lucky. If I had just a little bit of what people spent on contests, and have them spend it with me, they would actually get something out of this, because they would actually be writing with artists, have their songs properly written, recorded, and performed.
That is the best contest winning you can get.
MAB
Hey! I just might have a chance!!! None of mine are over the alowable time for radio play. They flow pretty well, have a definable chorus!!! Can we just declare me a winner now and save me some money? I can say that the money I saved is the amount I won.
LOL Seriously, if they are all that bad, then I have a pretty good chance...........
Peggy
Of course, none of THEM think THEIR'S are that bad either. Might want to think hard about that.
Hey MAB! If I move to Nashville, how long will it be before I can expect to fully support myself with songwriting? I have a great work ethic! I have enough money to last at least a few months. Also, I recently won a song writing contest here in my hometown. It's a GREAT song about Partying out in the country, on an old RED dirt road, with a Bon Fire, Trucks with BIG tires and lots of hot girls in very short shorts, being watched over by Angels and the spirits of friends who died too early. Oh yeah, there's long necks and bottles of JACK as well. It's got EVERYTHING! No wonder it won the contest. My freinds and family all say that my songs are WAY BETTER than the crap they hear on the radio! They have great taste. LOL! Seriously, I can make it for maybe 4 or 5 months if I have to, without my first royalty check. Am I being too optimistic? Hi to everybody here!
Hey MAB! If I move to Nashville, how long will it be before I can expect to fully support myself with songwriting? I have a great work ethic! I have enough money to last at least a few months. Also, I recently won a song writing contest here in my hometown. It's a GREAT song about Partying out in the country, on an old RED dirt road, with a Bon Fire, Trucks with BIG tires and lots of hot girls in very short shorts, being watched over by Angels and the spirits of friends who died too early. Oh yeah, there's long necks and bottles of JACK as well. It's got EVERYTHING! No wonder it won the contest. My freinds and family all say that my songs are WAY BETTER than the crap they hear on the radio! They have great taste. LOL! Seriously, I can make it for maybe 4 or 5 months if I have to, without my first royalty check. Am I being too optimistic? Hi to everybody here!
IMO you can make it real big if you pawn your guitar and "borrow backing tracks " and growl bad rhymes to them .
Drop off copies of your cds EVERYWHERE. Someone cool is bound to pick them up.
Oh Damn! I just realized that in the song that won the contest, that I said had "everything", I left something out. I shoulda worked a "Skoal ring" in there somewhere! MAB, is it OK to rewrite a song AFTER it's already won a contest? I hope this hasn't already been asked. Thanks! LOL!
P.S. This IS the song writer sarcassam forum, right?
Oh, you have said word for word what about 90% of the people who come here say. I know you have heard it a bunch fo times.
Hey Large Edward and Sir Johnathon the Chaste,
It is a very interesting world. I have never seen anything with more applications for information, yet most people not using it at all as the Internet. You can pretty much google anything, find out how your fravorite song or strar got where they are, find out how the things you HATE got where they are, read biographies, find out information on companies, take lessons for free, EVEN GET A VIDEO OF SOMEONE PLAYING YOUR FAVORITE SONG ON GUITAR AND SHOWING YOU HOW TO DO IT, AND STILL PEOPLE DON'T USE IT.
And just as silly as a question like that is (and yes it seems to be the ERA Songwriter Sarcasm, that seems to accompany the era of FREE MUSIC) that is exactly what a lot of them ask in one way or another. It is usually broken down in smaller segments but that is the gist.
Today will be a 15 year old girl from Toronto and her parents. They were recommended by a guy I have worked with in Toronto, who I believe is the Grandfather, but before I even sit down to breakfast with them, I can pretty much recite the conversation that will happen:
"She is so good, all our friends and family members have been saying "she needs to move to Nashville!"
She does Taylor Swift songs BETTER THAN TAYLOR!
She plays better than anyone in her class, and came in third on the talent show and there were THREE OTHER GIRLS IN THE SHOW...
She already has gotten some emails from companies we don't even know saying that she has talent and needs to record her songs! And they are going to PITCH THEM TO THE LABELS!
We haven't copyritten all of her songs yet. We don't want to play them for anyone until we have the forms back!
We went to an open mic once, but THEY were all terrible and we didn't want to have to wait in line!
If she goes to school down here in Nashville, how long would it be before she gets her record deal?
When do you think we could meet Taylor Miranda and Carrie? They seem so nice and would just LOVE HER!!!
We're very realistic about this and willing to wait up to a YEAR for this to happen. We don't expect it overnight!
Should we move to Nashville with her?
From the time we sign the first record deal, how long is it till we get checks?
When we put her web site on the Internet, how do we seperate the "good fans' from the bad ones?
What are the housing prices in Nashville? We want to be in a 'good neighborhood!"
When are you going to get her to meet Taylor Swift and get her songs out there?"
That song you wrote with her is AMAZING!!! It is a HIT!!!! When can we get that one out there?"
Yeah, it pretty much goes exactly like that. I don't mean to be so cynical, but everyone thinks they are JUST ABOUT TO BE DISCOVERED! Everybody thinks they have something that has never been seen before.
Some are very good. I am fortunate to work with some AMAZINGLY TALENTED, BEAUTIFUL, PEOPLE!
And they are ALL JUST WAITING TIME IN LINE! And guess what, EVERY OTHER HIT AND ESTABLISHED WRITER, RCORD COMPANY INDIVIDUAL (FROM THE LOWEST JANITOR) publisher, song plugger, friend of a friend, hang out buddy, mother father aunt uncle grandparent, wife, husband, significant other, KNOWS ONE TOO!!!
Like I was saying to Peggy, all those other people who enter their songs in contests think THEY DO TOO!
Even if you discovered the MOST amazing writer/artist/player in the world, you STILL would be having to WAIT IN LINE. That is what kills kids, (and adults.) It is not the INDUSTRY. It is the WAITING.
Here is what I would like to say: (and actually have with the really arrogant people)
Hmm. Very cool. Well I think you are on your way, but would you like me to give you a little future lesson? Okay.
For the next 8-12 years you will be putting up videos on YOU TUBE and getting a half dozen hits each time, some telling you that you are great and need to move to Nashville,the rest telling you that you suck and their son/daughter is so much better than you are.
Your music will get HORRIBLE critiques and you will spend a lot of nights staying up crying yourself to sleep. You will go to some karaoke nights and EVERYONE WILL LOVE YOU!!I (because you are 15-16-17 years old and everyone loves cute kids and dogs ), and people will tell you how great you are.
That will be followed immediatly by friends of yours and bullies pushing you around because you "Think you are SO GOOD!"
You will enter ten-fifteen contests and get close but never win anything.
You will go through every kind of physical change from acne to weight gain.
You will have your parents riding you because you have to fit into that cute outfit you all got for the state fair gig you have that actually turns out is a stage next to the swine pavilion that smells so bad you can't even stand it, any more than the eight people your parents got to come out to see you.
You will meet a collection of the sleeziest people you have ever known, who look deep into your eyes and tell you how they worked with Taylor Swift's, cousin's, brother, who knew someone who auditioned for American Idol and ALMOST had them a record deal with "Kiss My Butt' records, who was run by that guy who was an extra on the television show "That's My Mama" in the 70's in three episodes. So they HAVE WORKED WITH THE BEST!
You will drive two days, spend money on gas, food, hotel rooms, wait in line for two days in the pouring rain, with 5000 other people of all ages, many of them the nastiest people you have ever seen that look like the audition to the 'Walking Dead" television show, finally get your chance to see a very low level judge on video, and as you get the first line of your song out of your mouth, will say "THANK YOU! NEXT!!!"
You will lose all semblance of a reasonable family or high school life, spending your time isolated from friends because you have to go take another guitar/piano/dance lesson.
You will be goaded into taking all kinds of music related courses that have nothing to do with anything in life and when you graduate college, will find that "Introduction to Advanced Ancient English Literature" degree does not translate to anything and your parents flushed $50,000 down the toilet.
Those two publishing/record companies that LOVED YOU as their intern (FREE LABOR) that you spent three quarters stuffing envelopes, cleaning toilets, taking out garbage, making sandwiches for their parties, getting beer iced down, and staying after to clean up the studio afterward, DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE AFTER YOU GRADUATE because they have two new interns doing the same thing and there is no job for you!
The five different guys/girls that "produced' those sessions on you, you know, the eight songs you hated that were theirs that they made you cut over your own, because they had written them, and you had to do what they said, and the seven of your own that you recorded and two weeks later HATED because they were not very good to begin with, all lied to you and none of them were interested in doing one thing AFTER you finished the session, spent all that money you could have put on a down payment on a house or paid cash for a new car with. And you still have no material because everyone that hears it turns it off after the first two lines and says "What else you got?"
You will be 23 years old, with a mild alcohol/drug problem, working three part time jobs, tons of failed relationships, and are already being told about the "new kids coming in..."
You will hate all the music out there on the radio and can't understand why anyone won't listen to you.
Will curse every day you got into this.
SOUND LIKE FUN? There is your life.
UNLESS YOU EMPLOY THE MAB!!!! (only partially kidding!)
That is what I would like to say. I guess I just did.
Off to OH CANADA!!!!
MAB
Peggy,
You want to know what I would do on my songs? GET THEM IN FRONT OF REAL PEOPLE!!! This is where songwriters fall apart. They write songs in their living room. Play them for their friends. Send a link to some other people. Put them on web sites. Even put them up here. Although usually lyric onlys.
Play them or have them played in front of a cynical group of people more interested in their own conversations or texting than listening to songs. Are they making those people pay attention? Has anyone come up after the performance asking where they can get a copy of that song? Are they sending you emails the next day wanting to find out where you are performing next?
There's where your "rubber meets the road." REAL PEOPLE. And that is where contests FALL COMPLETELY APART.
Because the people who are interested in and do contests ARE OTHER SONGWRITERS! And songwriters DONT' BUY MUSIC!!!
The artists who actually CAN DO THIS, DO IT!!! Those that CAN'T DO CONTESTS!!!!
Say you can't perform, or are not a good singer/guitar player/etc?
LOOKS LIKE YOU GOT YOURSELF A BIG OL' PROBLEM!!! Because the people actually doing this ARE!!!
Does that mean you have to be great to get it out there in teh first place? DON'T HURT! But you have to HAVE SOMEONE THAT IS ONE OF THOSE FIRST.
I have never seen more CART BEFORE THE HORSE, OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY, people than ANY ONE DOING CONTESTS or particpating in most songwriter forums.
"How can I get my songs out there?" Unless you have an artist YOU CAN'T.
"I've got to get my songs copyritten so someone won't STEAL THEM!" What have you gotten worth stealing? That song that has the same title, melody, subject matter, same lyrics, as the ten thousand other songs with the same title,melody, subject matter, lyrics, that were written 20 years before you were born?
Where is your music being played? What artists are beating a way to your door to get more? How many musical circles are you hanging around to get people interested in your stuff and that you are helping promote THEIR stuff?
How many nights have you stayed up till midnight waiting to play one song on an open mic or waiting in the audience to hear a performer do their songs? How many pot luck suppers have you hosted inviting a bunch of songwriters over? How many have you attended? How many writers meetings,workshops, seminars, have you gone too? How many songs have you written? How many professional demos have you paid for?
All these are questions that are NESSASARY to answer before anyone does ANYTHING in this business.
We have a "100 rule." in Nashville. Until you have written at LEAST 100 songs, and demoed 10% of those, you have not even GOTTEN STARTED. The people you are trying to compete with have 500-1500 songs. Are you sure you are ready to play on that field?
There is nothing wrong with dreaming. That is how we all get there. There is nothing wrong with writing for ourselves and family and friends. That is all great.
But the second you step into someone else's ears, minds, worlds, via live performance, contests, auditions, what have you, YOU ARE IN A WHOLE NEW BALLGAME.
You have to step up. And you need to know the realities.
Are their people making it? Absolutely.
Is it impossible to do. Absolutely not.
Is it improbable? more than improbable.
But it can be a great way to meet people, to share what you do with a lot of people. Make friends for life, and get your art out there. That CAN BE DONE.
You just have to do it with common sense and realistic expectations.
That's what we do here.
MAB
Hey Big Ed, you forgot to say anything about Momma or Trains or gettin drunk in your contest song, it's not perfect yet.....hahahaha
Marc, thanks for continuing to provide people with the honest truth. Even though it may not always be the easiest thing to hear, it will be of great benefit to them in the long run if they listen. Plus it will save them a crap ton of money!!!
Have a great day everyone 