Hello Justin, Thanks for responding to Eddie and letting everyone know what you have been doing.
I don't really understand what the "GHERMING" question is. Mentioning someone in a songwriting conversation is exactly what you do. Complimenting, contacting by email or facebook (as long as it is within reason) is standard operating procedure. That is NOT GHERMING.
"GHERMING" is being at a writer's show, and the feature act is a publisher or number one hit writer (Allen Shamblin' or Thom Shepard" for you, Justin), and saying "Hey really good. By the way I'M A WRITER TOO, and HERE IS MY CD, BUSINESS CARD!" Let's get together and do some writing because I can REALLY BRING SOME STUFF TO YOU!!!! You HAVE TO HEAR MY SONGS BECAUSE THEY ARE REALLY GREAT BECAUSE EVERYONE TELLS ME SO!!!!"
That is GHERMING. It is "presenting a relationship that is not there." A handshake with a CD in it. Even passing out a business card can be considered gherming. If they have CONTACTED YOU BACK, told you to contact them and gave you a contact number or email, that is BUSINESS. If they ASK YOU FOR A CD OR WEB SITE LINK THAT IS BUSINESS.
Gherming is simply the act of trying to GET AHEAD OF YOURSELF. Imagine whatever you do. for this argument, let's just say Justin. What if a bunch of people are graduating college and they want to work on that truck with you, they want to drive around and because they see all these first responders, people that work the service trucks after a storm or flood "LOOKS COOL!" The people that do that, end up doing all these television interviews, are always the heroes, and end up on THE BACHELORETTE! They think it is GLAMOUR position because they don't see going into the "vomit holes" they don't see all the crap you have to clean up, they don't see all the nasty, dangerous stuff you do. They just see some of these really fit, good looking guys who fight the fires in California and do a calendar model stuff and think it is STEP TOWARD THEIR STAR CAREER.
They don't understand the years it took you to get there. The other jobs you had to go through, the extra time and work you have to do, the toll it takes on you and your family, physical and mental.
So now, all these people come up to you and say "Hey man, that is so cool, here is my 8x10 picture, and my resume'. Can you give this to your boss, and see if they can get me on your truck." (Without realizing that if you did that, you are knocking YOURSELF off the truck.) "I need to make some quick money and your job looks really cool because I saw this episode of the "the Bachlorette" and I think I could get on there, because I spend time in the gym, and women want me and......"
That is about how inane it is. "Ghermer's are people that ONLY WANT SOMETHING FOR THEMSELVES. They see themselves as being "up there" with the big boys. They think because they show up backstage, because they get to hang out in the green room, because they watch someone with hit records THEY deserve to be there too.
Besides, THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DO ALL THIS WAITING IN LINE STUFF, because they heard that 30 years ago. Glen Campbell was on a plane next to Allen Jackson's wife and she gave him a cassette tape and he loved Allen, and blah blah blah. Yes that happened, but Allen Jackson had a VERY HOT wife and anyone would have taken a tape from her. And it was a different day.
Besides, THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DO ALL THIS WAITING IN LINE STUFF, because they heard that 30 years ago. Glen Campbell was on a plane next to Allen Jackson's wife and she gave him a cassette tape and he loved Allen, and blah blah blah. Yes that happened, but Allen Jackson had a VERY HOT wife and anyone would have taken a tape from her. And it was a different day.
Now, NOBODY IS MAKING MONEY ON MUSIC. There are MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AND BILLIONS OF SONGS. So everyone is trying to get out in any way they can. And those kinds of people are the EXACT ONES who always think SOMEONE IS STEALING THEIR SONGS!!!! they are always the ones who think that they have written "I LOVE YOU BABY" and that has never even been thought of because THEY HAVEN'T HEARD IT ON THE RADIO (in the past three weeks. It was actually on the radio pretty much consistantly since 1943, but all they know about music history is the most recent Justin Beiber song on the radio. "I mean that is SO FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO!"
And there are an entire class of ATTORNEYS' THAT TAKE THESE CASES thinking "we can sue somebody, tie up their songs a couple years in court, and the companys will settle to clear it up. And the lawyers will get 80%.
But that, fortunately is about to come to an end. These attorneys are starting to get slammed by the courts and being charged with Malpractice. The guy who brought the Led Zepplin lawsuit has been disbarred and being countersued, so that should have a "calming down" effect.
But that is what "Gherming" is. Trying to move too fast. So if you are just responding to someone or being normal in your behavior, you don't have a problem. If you are trying to impress them with who you write with or trying to appear more successful than you are, that is "GHERMING."
MAB
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