DAY - 102

Heard back from ASCAP regarding Darius Rucker. (refer to day 100)  Anna referred us to his McGhee Entertainment, which is Darius Rucker's management and she gave us the phone number.  Today I called McGhee entertainment and inquired to see if Darius was in fact looking for songs and if he was accepting "outside material". (Outside material refers to songs that are written by other writers and not the artists themselves)  Josh at McGhee Ent. confirmed that Darius IS looking for songs.  I told Josh I wanted to submit a song but he said they're not accepting unsolicited material. (Unsolicited material refers to songs that are not represented by a major label or publisher)  When I told him I had co-written the song with hit songwriter, Jason Blume he changed his tune :)  He ended up giving me his email address which I then forwarded to Jason Blume so he can submit.

It once again proves that the music business is truly more about WHO you know than WHAT you know. I'm finding more and more that the potential success of this blog challenge of 'making it in 365' is directly connected to making friends and allies in the music biz.  Doors that would have been closed 102 days ago are now beginning to open.  I look forward and pray for the day that I can open any door because of who I am, not because of who I know.  Cheers!

DAY - 101

Today I emailed Jeremy Yohai from Downtown Music Publishing in NYC.  Over the past week we've been emailing back and forth regarding my song"Caroline". (refer to day 97)  When I emailed him last week he immediately wrote back letting me know that he thought the song was very high quality.  After talking today, he let me know that if any opportunities come up in which he can pitch the song, he'll contact me about the pitch...Great news!  Let's keep our fingers crossed something comes up!

Still waiting to hear back from ASCAP about Darius Rucker contact (refer to yesterday)

DAY - 100

100 days down... 265 days to go!  Wow, time seriously flies... especially when you're constantly on the move.  I can honestly say, the past 100 days have been the most productive days in my career, so far.  I intend to keep the momentum going stronger than ever.

That being said, today I emailed Anna and Ryan at ASCAP Nashville to try and find out the contact name of the person screening/looking for songs for Darius Rucker's new project (refer to last couple days).  I'm hoping they may be able to direct me to the person or at least direct me to someone who may know the person.  Either way, as long as I can do the leg work and get the contact, I know Jason Blume and J Fred Knobloch will be able to make the pitch.  Stay tuned!

DAY - 99

Hope you're getting your fill of T-Day leftovers.  Nothing like a BIG turkey sandwich, a football game  and a comfy couch to kick the weekend off right.

Today I heard back from Jason Blume. (refer to yesterday)  He agreed that Darius Rucker would be a great pitch for '20/20'!  Now we just have to find out the name of his A&R rep and we can let the pitching begin.  Since everyone is off until Monday, not much can be accomplished this weekend but I'll try to do some research anyway.  Stay tuned!

I also submitted 'Start of Something Good'to this listing on Youlicense.com ...

A three minute video of University grounds still shots for the Admissions dept. Music needs to be uplifting, not too fast or slow, preferably starting sparsely and building as it goes. Not overly emotional. Maybe strings. Medium driving pace.

If you haven't heard 'Start of Something Good' you can check it out here ....  http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/start-of-something-good

DAY - 98

Apparently tonight is the biggest bar night of year.  Instead of joining in the festivities at my favorite local, my girlfriend, Susan and I will be trekking down to West Virginia ;) to spend Thanksgiving with her family.  I'm actually REALLY excited about it!  Looking forward to leaving the day-to-day craziness for an extended relaxing weekend getaway, filled with amazing food and great people.

Hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Today I was able to do some important research and found out that one of my favorite country singers Darius Rucker, is looking for songs!  This is really ironic because I just mentioned the other day (refer to day 95) that Fred Knobloch and I had a song that would be a perfect pitch for him.  So first I emailed Fred and let him know that we need to give the demo process a swift kick in the ass, git 'r done, and pitch it!  Then,  I emailed Jason Blume because I also think our song "20/20" would be a great pitch.  So let's keep our fingers crossed.

Cheers!

DAY - 97

Tuesday's Blog 11/22/11:

Today I emailed Jeremy Yohai from Downtown Music Publishing in NYC.  (I've mentioned Jeremy's name over the past 97 days a bunch of times)  I contacted him today because I wanted to forward him a  song called "Caroline" to inquire about his opinion of the song's pitching potential.  Although "Caroline" was released in 2008, I've always had a personal affinity towards the tune and still think it has a lot of potential. So...I wanted to get a professional publisher's opinion.  

DAY - 96

A songwriter's supreme challenge is being complex and simple at the same time.

- Paul Simon



I read this and found it to be exactly how I feel!  Somehow Paul Simon seemed to have mastered this.

Anyway now to the task at hand....
Today I forwarded 2 songs to HD Music Now, a private publishing company / Film and TV licensing firm in LA. (forwarded both"Caroline" and "Half the Girl")  I'm gearing my pitching of these 2 songs towards the TV and Film market and HD Music Now seems to have a nice independent presence in that market.  We'll see what they think.

DAY - 95

Apologies for the delay on this blog. Lol...feel like apologized a bunch this week.  What can I say, its been a super hectic couple of days!  This weekend I will be doing the usual and researching more people to contact for the upcoming week.  

Yesterday, I called J Fred Knobloch to discuss pitching options for our new song.  It just hit me yesterday that the song would be a perfect pitch for Darius Rucker! (the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish who now has made an incredible comeback career in Country music) Fred agreed, so now all we have to do is get a demo done. 

DAY - 94

Sorry for the brevity of this blog, but I'm running around like crazy today!  I went on Music X Ray and submitted '20/20' to this listing...

Seeking Great Pop, Rock & Country Talent for Arthouse Entertainment 
Arthouse Entertainment is seeking great songwriters and performers in the Pop, Rock and Country genres. We want to hear fresh sounds that will grab our attention. If you have great songs or are a great performer, please submit music to us. If we love it, we'll be in touch. 
Please do not contact us outside of Music Xray. We handle unsolicited submissions here. 
Arthouse Entertainment is co-owned by Kara DioGuardi and is a unique and diverse publishing company, music label and talent development enterprise that seeks....

DAY - 93

Sorry for delay...yesterday was big day!

Kicked off early @ 10am, I attended a workshop at University of the Arts in Philadelphia.  The speaker was Paul Adkins (nationally renown opera singer) His workshop was absolutely inspiring to say the LEAST and his performances were breath-taking.  As soon as the workshop ended, around 12pm,  I was straight off to do some writing.  I did a 3-person skype session with Liv Devine and Gene Micofsky.  We had a GREAT session and almost have the new song finished.  Can't wait for you to hear this one!

After that I submitted my song 'Half the Girl' to this listing on Music X Ray...


BMG Expanding roster of artists 
Please submit your music for consideration to be added to our roster of artists. We are seeking all genres from artists all over the world. We proudly support top artists such as Will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas), Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Gossip, Nena, David Garrett, White Lies, Peter Fox, Marlon Roudette (Mattafix), Scorpions, The Wanted, La Roux, Duran Duran, Carly Simon, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Hurts, The Script, Skindred, IAMX, Abd Al Mailik, Lucio Dalla, Dinero...

DAY - 92

Kicked off the day right with a writing session with Nashville hit songwriter, J Fred Knobloch.  Fred and I finished the song we've been working on and we're planning a demo. I'm really excited about how the song turned out.  Can't wait...stay tuned!

BIG thank you to Matt McCormick for referring me to today's contact!

Thank you to Matt, today I contacted Alix Constant.  Alix is a producer and has ties to labels and music industry reps.  I sent an email to Alix introducing myself and letting him know what I'm trying to accomplish.  If there is anyway we can collaborate to make things happen, I'm interested!  We'll see where it leads...

*NOTE*  If YOU have a contact you think I should connect with, let me know!!!  I need to make as many connections as possible and I'm only on DAY - 92.  You can help me make the connection that leads to a deal!  email me...  mynameisaugust@yahoo.com

DAY - 91

I already heard back from hit producer Stuart Epps!  (Refer to yesterday) Via Music X Ray, this is what he said...

hi there

nice song and well sung good recording and well put together demo this is ready to go send to a record company and try and get a release could hear this on the radio.  youve done well here

Today I wrote him back after reviewing his website.  He says on his site that, if he likes your stuff, he can help with making major label and publisher introductions.  Well, seeing that he really digs 'Caroline', I wrote him an email and politely asked if he might be interested in helping me establish some publishing connections.  Figured it can't hurt to ask :)

DAY - 90

Apologies for the lateness of this blog...this is for yesterday, 11/11/11  (wow I forgot to make a wish)

Super busy day for music.  Kicked off with songwriting session with Tyler James.  We started working on some new song ideas for Tyler's forthcoming solo album.  Got some pretty cool ideas down, melodies and such, but nothing to write home about yet.

After the writing session I had a chance to submit to listing on Music X Ray...this is what it said...


Legendary producer Stuart Epps is offering a song critique/career coaching that could lead to a production deal! Take advantage of this opportunity to get your music in front of a seasoned professional who can help. Some of Epps' most noteworthy clients have included Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Chris Rea, George Harrison, Mick Fleetwood, Barry White, George Michael, Mark Owen, Cliff Richard, Twisted Sister, Brian Adams, Oasis, Kiki Dee, Robbie Williams, Bill Wyman and of course Elton John.

I decided to submit my song "Caroline"... http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/caroline

Then it was off to a gig. (I played a beautiful cocktail hour for a wedding) I think I've decided that cocktail hours are my favorite gigs. (cover song gigs, that is) If I HAVE to play cover songs, the best place to do it is in a beautiful, relaxed environment and ONLY for an hour... usually 6pm-7pm.  In and out!   So if you're getting married, let me know, I'll play your cocktail hour :)

Today: 11/12/2011

Tyler James and I are forming a game plan to demo a song we wrote about 4 months ago.  Its a upbeat dance/pop song called "Get U On The Floor".  We discussed approaching a well-established philly producer named, Dilemma to produce the song with us.  Keep you posted on how it turns out!

DAY - 89

When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt.

- Henry J. Kaiser


I came across this quote today and found it to be helpful for me.  I noticed that one of my first instincts when I'm pitching a song or even writing a song is to 'sell' or convince the other person of why its a good idea or a strong song.  I just realized today that great music or a great song speaks for itself...especially when the 'right' person is listening.  No amount of convincing can make it better... or worse.

In light of this, I emailed Alex Torrez today from Torrez Music group.  I found out he was looking for songs to pitch to Tim McGraw so I sent him "20/20" (the new song the Sweet Angeline team wrote and recorded with hit songwriter, Jason Blume) check it out... www.sweetangelinemusic.com

 I think it would be a great pitch for Tim McGraw assuming he'll be going more in the direction of his current hit "Felt Good On My Lips"...but... then again, I'll let the work speak for itself  :)

DAY - 88

Loonnnggg day.  Started out early with a Skype writing session with Liv Devine and Gene Micofsky.  We got pretty far on the new country rocker we've been writing....sounding pretty bad ass!

Today I went on a TV and Film pitching kick...

First, I emailed Jody Friedman from HD Music Now (Jody owns a music licensing company in LA that pitches songs for TV and Film)  I sent him the new song, 'Mix CDs & Memories'  http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/mix-cds-memories to see if he thinks it would be a strong pitch for his clients.  


I also submitted to a listing on MusicXray today posted by Fuel TV.  Here's what it said...  


Fuel TV 
Fuel TV is constantly seeking music that is thematic to action sports or that would sync well to highlight reels and action sports montages. 


I submitted a song called  'A Higher Place' check it out... http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/a-higher-place  


Now its time to chill out and catch the CMAs... cheers!

DAY - 87

Doing a Skype writing session as we speak with hit songwriter J Fred Knobloch.  We're working on a song that sounds very Zac Brown Band ish.  Really digging where its going.  More to come...

DAY - 86

Just released a brand new single today!  Listen and download it for free ONLY today!

http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/mix-cds-memories

The song is called 'Mix CDs & Memories'.   Its a pissed off, sarcastic, but tongue and cheek break-up song with a very happy approach (if that's even possible) .... very Bare Naked Ladies inspired.  Just listen, you'll know what I mean.  :)  Hope you enjoy...

Huge thanks to Chris Zurzolo for co-producing and for the fantastic mixing job.   Also, a big thank you to Eric Schwank for the beautiful mandolin playing and background vocals.

Other thanks and credits go to Bill Grillo - Percussion and Ralph Deal - Bass

Cheers!

DAY - 85

Apologies for the lateness of this blog...this covers yesterday (11/4/2011)  As usual I will be doing research this weekend on more contacts to approach this week.  Stay tuned!

Today I got together with my 'Sweet Angeline' co-writers Tyler and Liv.  Unfortunately, we didn't have the most creative day hah.  I guess the songwriting muse checked out for the day.  However, we did come up with some cool ideas for future sessions...

I just got an email from Music X Ray that said they're going to be featuring my music on their site as well as all of their social networking sites.  I emailed back to let them know that was totally cool!  Here's what they said...

Hi!

Congratulations on being one of the favorite artists selected by our staff this week!  

DAY - 84

Today I entered the 'Intel Superstars Competition'.  Check it out...

http://www.ourstage.com/go/prizelist2011?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Intel+Is+Searching+For+A+Superstar&utm_campaign=11-3-2011-IntelSuperstars-Enter&utm_term=prize+package

I entered a song I wrote a long time ago called 'Caroline'.  If you haven't heard it you can listen here...
http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/caroline

Grand prize for this competition is over $35,000 in prizes, including $10,000 cash... would be nice :)

DAY - 83

Great day for music!  Recorded a vocal and started a brand new song idea with 'Sweet Angeline' co-writer Liv Devine and the musical director/lead guitarist of her band, Gene Micofsky.  Gene is actually living out in LA, but he sent over a kick ass guitar riff idea via email.  The riff was so catchy we had to start sketching out ideas.  Definitely psyched about this one! Think we'll get a skype session happening next week :)

NYC music publisher Jeremy Yohai got back to me today. (refer to yesterday)  He thought the song was really good!  I just wrote him back.  I let him know that we were originally going for a Rascal Flatts pitch, but I was wondering if he knew of any artists/groups that he thinks the song would be a good pitch for.  I'm thinking that if he's really diggin the tune he might want to jump on board and help us pitch it...or in other words...stand in as my publisher.  Jeremy is a young, creative and super smart publisher.  He's the type of guy I would definitely love to work with.

Cheers!

DAY - 82

Hope you had a great Halloween!  It didn't really feel like Halloween for me...I guess because it was a random Monday night...or maybe because I didn't dress up this year.  Anyway, lets get down to business...

Just emailed both Lisa Johnson from 'Razor and Tie Music Publishing' and Jeremy Yohai from 'Downtown Music Publishing'... both top music publishing companies in NYC.  I had previously made contact with both Lisa and Jeremy a little while back and I wanted to say hi, stay in touch and show them what I've been working on.  I sent them the demo of the new song '20/20' to see what they think.  In the back of my head, I'm hoping to start a buzz among publishers and slowly start turning people on to what I'm doing.  We'll see if it works :)