DAY - 365

"All your hard work will soon pay off."  After filling up on delicious chinese take out, I broke open my fortune cookie and...no lie... that is what I read.

DAY

For the past 2 or 3 months, I've thought about what I would say on DAY - 365.  There is SO much to say.  But, I'm staring at an empty computer screen and honestly drawing a blank.   I don't think I can find the words to express how grateful I am for this project.  I'm not going to rattle off a list of my accomplishments. If you're reading this, you've probably already been along for the ride.  NO,  I did not sign a publishing deal or a recording contract within 365 business days by networking with at least one person in the music industry a day.  BUT, I have learned and progressed more as an artist, a songwriter and a business mind in this year, than I have in the past 10 years combined...and that is priceless.  Throughout the year, many people have asked me, "What are you going to do if you don't reach your goal?"  I never really knew how to respond, but through the process, an answer has presented itself.  You know, "Making it 365"... making it in 365 days...that's a set goal.  But, what I've realized is that making it 365 is more than a goal...it's a life style...it's a philosophy.  If you want something so badly, you HAVE to work at it every_ single_ day.

That being said,  I WILL continue the spirit of this blog.  I will continue networking, writing, recording, everyday.  I may not post everyday, but I will post very frequently with detailed recaps...successes, failures and lessons learned.  So if you're interested, STAY TUNED!

I don't think I could write anything that is going to sum up this adventure better than the mini-documentary that I've been telling you about!  So, being that it's the last day of this blogging adventure,  I thought it would be fitting to release, for your viewing pleasure,  "Making It 365", filmed and produced by Chris Zurzolo and J Paul Simeone from Olive Branch Productions.  Hope you enjoy!

http://youtu.be/UudmG5z5wfM

Finally, in traditional fashion...  Let's get back to business.
Today I met with Owner/Executive Producer at Turtle Studios in Philadelphia, Jay Levin.  Jay and I had a great meeting in which we discussed the possibility of teaming up on future songwriting/recording projects.  Turtle Studios is a beautifully restored facility with a killer live room and an amazing vibe.  Definitely looking forward to working with Jay on some upcoming projects.

Cheers!

DAY - 364

Very productive day.  Spent the morning and afternoon recording vocals at Medicine Man Studios (owned by long-time engineer/producer, Chris Zurzolo) in Philadelphia for a brand new song I wrote with Sweet Angeline co-writer, Liv Devine and Nashville's, Fred Knobloch.  It's a very sparse, vulnerable and heartfelt ballad and the recording is demonstrating that beautifully.  Fred recorded (from his Nashville studio) an inspired, finger-style acoustic guitar part and sent it to us via dropbox...then he skyped in for the vocal session this morning.  Liv did a fantastic job on the lead vocals and after I finished laying down some background harmonies we all sat, listened and decided to call it a day.  No use in complicating it with a bunch of layers and complex harmonies.  This tune truly speaks for itself.  The only thing left to add is cello which will create drama and serve as an added texture.  In the midst of the session, we discussed some pitching options/directions for the song and Fred is going to try to do a bit of "shopping" before the Holidays are in full swing.  Fingers crossed Santa gets us a big cut this Christmas :)

After the session, I reached out to the publishing head of Black River Music Group, Celia Froehlig.  If you read yesterday's post, I stumbled across Black River and reached out to the head of A&R, Doug Johnson.  Since Black River is both a label AND a publisher I figured I'd reach out to both parties to see if I could drum up some sort of response.  As always...we shall see.  

DAY - 363

Hope you had a great weekend.  Mine was pretty eventful!  Saturday night, one of my best buddies from High School had a Christmas/House-warming party.  Fantastic party, not to mention a beautiful house in Philadelphia.  He purchased it last year and the spent the better part of the year gutting the place and completely renovating it.  He seriously spared no expense.  The place is absolutely gorgeous... a bachelor pad fit for a king!  Sunday was pretty sweet.  After a brunch, celebrating my sister's boyfriend's 30th B-day, I headed straight to Haddonfield, NJ.  In a gazebo, in the center of King's Court, I had the honor of playing a song while an old friend of mine proposed to his girlfriend!!   She was TOTALLY surprised. They came walking down the court on a nice little stroll through town and some random guy (me) happened to be playing "their song" in the gazebo.  As soon as they walked up, my friend Matt got down on one knee and proposed.  She said, "yes" and it was a magical little moment.  Congratulations to the happy couple! :)

Have to admit, I slept in a little today.  Had to enjoy not having an 8:30am class.  Around 9:30am EST I started digging to find some new contacts and after about an hour of researching I stumbled across a Nashville label and publishing company called, Black River Music Group.  Today I reached out to the head of A&R at Black River, Doug Johnson.  I told Doug a bit about myself and my ambitions, kept it relatively brief and let him know I'm interested in meeting next time I'm in town.  We shall see.

We are getting down to the wire folks.  Today is day 363.  Stay tuned.

DAY - 362

TGIF!  Got a really cool "forward" today from Taxi.com.  Let me explain briefly.  Taxi.com is a site you can sign up to that sends you listings for industry pros (label reps, tv&film reps, producers) that are looking for songs.  If you've been following along you might have seen some of the listenings I posted here on the blog.  The way it works is that someone at Taxi.com screens all the songs submitted before sending to the industry pro... so in other words, our song will either get "returned" meaning rejected or "forwarded" meaning sent to the industry pro.   Anyway,  just got word today that one of my songs was forwarded to Vin Di Bona productions.  They're a TV production company that produce a bunch of popular shows including the most famous "America's Funniest Home Videos".   Just so you can see how it works, I'll post the listing below AND below that, I'll post what the person from Taxi.com responded AND below that I'll post a link to my taxi.com site so you can check it out and listen to the song.  If you're new to Taxi, this will give you a first hand look at how it works.  It's actually funny that they forwarded this one. It's only a rough mix of a half finished track! You'll see what I mean when you listen.  Nonetheless, it's definitely a good sign!  The song is an upbeat, pop track (a la vein of Maroon 5, The Wanted, Justin Bieber) called "Insomnia" and I wrote it with the Sweet Angeline team of Tyler James and Liv Devine.  The track is in the midst of being produced by Jeremy Cimino from Jungle City in NYC.

PRODUCER of a LONG-RUNNING, POPULAR REALITY TV SHOW needs UPBEAT, ENERGETIC POP SONGS a la Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Justin Bieber, etc. The producer wants to be able to play off your lyrics, so be CREATIVE and CLEVER with your theme and content. SUPER FUN, MID-to-UPTEMPO SONGS only. Remember that this is for national TV so please don't submit songs that will invite beeps from the censors. Please avoid songs with lyrics mentioning specific brands or people's names. Vocal and instrumental performances should be fantastic! MALE or FEMALE vocals OK.

Hi Michael, thanks for submitting your song. I really like it and I'm going to forward it. The listing says "The producer wants to be able to play off your lyrics, so be CREATIVE and CLEVER." I think your song has a good cliche "Insomnia," although it's not in the chorus I like how you used it in the verses. It stands out. I also like how the chorus explains what the theme of the song is in a direct and catchy way. I think if Justin Beiber sang this song it would do well at top 40 radio. For this listing I think it's great because there are few scenarios this song will work for. Good luck to you!

www.taxi.com/mynameisaugust  

DAY - 360 + 361

Wooo hooo!!! I am done and officially on Winter break.  That was by far the busiest semester thus far.  Actually, I venture to say, that was the busiest time period in my life so far.  Oh wait, I spoke too soon...let's throw student teaching into the mix next semester.  Oh well, it'll all go by way too fast just like the past 2 years.

Speaking of time flying, I have to say, keeping this blog has not only helped with my career, but it has also helped mark a bunch of amazing turning points in life.  Not only have I gotten engaged, but I've also had the opportunity to witness two of my best friends in the world walk down the aisle.  Between all the craziness of my recital and final's week, I was able to watch John (one of my best friends since age 15) and his beautiful bride, Holly tie the knot in an over-the-top, spectacular wedding celebration.  It was truly a power-packed day, from morning til night, full of laughter, drinking, fun, drinking, family, drinking, love, oh and a lot of...you get the point.  We had a blast to say the least!  Here are a few "up close and personals" with the newlyweds :)

Alright back to biz...

Yesterday and today have been spent planning and scheduling sessions for next week.  I have a lot of demos in progress as well as demos about to be in progress so next week it's time to play catch up.  Besides scheduling a vocal skype session for the demos that Eric and I need to complete (refer to last couple days) Nashville co-writer, Fred Knobloch has begun working on two new ones as well.  Working on a game plan for recording those...where, when and how.  Also, I still have a pop track in production with NYC producer, Jeremy Cimino as well as another one with my new friend and co-writer Josh McDonnell.  Also, working on setting up some new co-writes as well.  There are so many awesome songwriters I've met over the past couple months and haven't had the time to write yet.  Looking forward to it.  More to come...stay tuned!

DAY - 359

More back and forth today with co-writer Eric Schwank while he's in Nashville.  So after talking more in depth I got the full story about the studio sess went.  Overall, Eric said the musicians were fantastic.  We had some of the top session guys including the fiddle player from Josh Turner's band. (same guy that played on my demo with Kirk Penney)  He said trying to accomplish three songs in a day and have them turnout the way we wanted was another story.  I haven't heard anything yet but Eric said at least one of them suffered a little identity crisis as far as feel, groove and energy.  I've heard this can be a problem at demo studios but haven't run into it until now.  I'm really looking forward to hearing stuff now.  The other hang up of course was the demo singer canceling.  We decided not to go with someone else and Skype in at a later date, or possibly even be there in person on another date.  It holds up the process but, hey, we have to make sure it's right.  So that's the story so far.

Also, I heard back from singer-songwriter Justin Klump.  Looks like we're gonna try to get together next time I'm in town.  Looking forward to it...Justin is a fantastic guitarist and songwriter... definitely check out his new EP...it's beautiful.  www.justinklump.com 

Today I also sent an email to Fred Knobloch to start discussing new song ideas and demo plans for our latest 2 songs.  We've got some killer tunes on the way, one mid-tempo and one ballad.  After getting a new batch of demos together I'm planning on approaching Daniel Lee from BMG and Natalie Harker from Cal IV to follow up.

DAY - 358

The recital on Friday night was a success!  When asked what my favorite part about it was, I have been responding, "The fact that it's over!"  Don't get me wrong,  I had a BLAST!  The band was fantastic, the sound was perfect, the crowd was great, and everything went off without a hitch.  What I'm referring to is the preparation and pressure.  I can play a show in front of hundreds of people without getting worked up, I can play a crowded bar with people screaming, "play my song! play my song!" any day of the week,  but having to play in front of a dead quiet room full of my peers... now that's scary.  You know everyone is judging and critiquing and it takes a lot to forget it all and just have fun.  Luckily enough, I got in the zone and stayed there all night.  What a great memory!  Since most of you couldn't be there, here are some pictures...

Now, down to business...

Good friend and co-writer, Eric Schwank (as seen in above picture, in the hat) is in Nashville as we speak demoing 3 songs (2 of which we co-wrote) at Studio 19!!  I'm SO pumped.  I can't wait to hear the songs and I can't wait for you to hear them as well.  We ran into one snag.  Turns out, Eric got an email late last night that our demo singer lost his voice and won't be able to do the session today...ahhh!  This especially sucks because Eric flew all the way down just to cut these songs.  2 options we're looking at...1) Get a new demo singer 2) Have our original demo singer sing the songs after the fact while we skype in for the session.   We're still deciding...it's tough because we really like our guy.  More to come on this.

Also, today I reached out to an old songwriting friend from Vancouver, WA, Justin Klump.  Justin and I have managed to bump into each other a couple times over the past 6 years while playing shows.  It turns out that he moved to Nashville and is doing really well.  Just released a great 5-song EP.  I just reached out today to re-connect and let him know I'll be moving to town as well in the near future.  Great to know more people!  

DAY - 357

Today is being spent relaxing and getting ready for the big recital tonight.  I can't believe it's been 2 years since I started back at school.  With a BA in business marketing, I embarked on a mission to secure a master's degree, not in business, oh no, that'd be too easy, but in music.  I was accepted and started up at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia in January of 2010.  Having no undergraduate credits in music I knew it was going to be a long ride...going to school full-time while retaining a full teaching schedule, gigging, writing and recording. (not to mention throwing this blog in the mix last year)  Well, there is light at the end of the tunnel.  Tonight's recital marks the end of a 2-year journey through "undergraduate land" coming out with an Associate's in vocal performance and a minor in music education that will allow me to enter and finish the 1-year master's program starting this Spring.   Here's the details below...you're welcome to come and enjoy the show!


Tonight, 7pm, "Michael August Walton & Friends" at Caplan Center for Performing Arts on Broad Street, Philadelphia. The show is free and open to all! Also, performing at 8pm the wonderfully talented Rob Borchert Guaranteed to be a great night of music. Hope to see you there. Cheers!

DAY - 356

This has officially been the most stressful two weeks I've had...maybe ever.  The heaps of papers, tests and presentations at school, teaching every night, rehearsing and preparing for my recital, keeping up with bills, writing sessions, etc finally caught up with me and I was sick as a dog yesterday.  My head hit the pillow around 11pm on Tuesday night and I slept until about 2pm on Wednesday!!  I could barely move all day.  Managed to crank out a few emails...hopefully they were legible...but that's about it.  Thank God, I'm feeling SO much better today.  No more fever, chills or anything except for a few aches here and there and some fatigue.  I guess all the go go go finally got the best of me and my body just decided it had to shut itself down.  Anyway, if all goes well I'll be 100% for my recital tomorrow.

Back to business...

Following the conversation with Fred Knobloch regarding Major Bob, (refer to Day 354) I reached out to owner and President, Bob Doyle.  I gave Bob the normal spiel and let him know that I was a friend and co-writer of Fred Knobloch.  Hopefully, in this case, a little name-dropping will work to my advantage.  We shall see.  Stay tuned!

DAY - 355

Today I heard back from former EMI rep and owner of I Think I love It .com,  Katie O'Halloran.  I had contacted Katie over a month ago regarding the possibility of her knowing someone from Avril Lavigne's team. (Been trying to pitch the latest song I wrote with Scot Sax to Avril) Katie responded that she absolutely LOVED the song and could hear it for a number of artists, but let me know that she doesn't have any affiliations with Avril's camp.  I responded, thanking her for listening and for the kind words as well as letting her know it'd definitely be cool to forward it along ;)

DAY - 354

Connecting the dots may in fact prove useful! (refer to yesterday)  As you know, I reached out to co-writer and Nashville hit songwriter, J Fred Knobloch yesterday regarding contacting Major Bob Music.  Well, I spoke with Fred today and it turns out, Fred not only knows Wendi, but has also known the owner and President, Bob Doyle for over 30 years!  Furthermore, Fred let me know that he'd drop a line, put in a good word for me, AND he is also going to put together a promo package for Sweet Angeline and personally deliver it straight to Mr. Doyle hopefully getting us a showcase!  That would be amazing.   If it pans out, that'll be 2 showcases so far for the next Nashville trip including the one with Universal Nashville.  Fingers crossed.

DAY - 352 + 353

Apologies for the delay.  Had to do some MAJOR digging lately and stumbled across a really cool Nashville label/publishing company called Major Bob. (wow...no pun intended..I swear)  Artists like Garth Brooks and The Band Perry are signed with Major Bob as well as a team of really great writers.  Yesterday and today I reached out to two different staff members.  The first of which, Mike Doyle is the VP or Creative and the GM of the company and the second is head of A&R, Jesse Frasure.

I sent an email, yesterday, to Mike Doyle letting him know a bit about myself and my goals to become a published writer/artist.  I let him know I'm moving to Nashville in the near future and interested in co-writing with a member of his team.   Today, I sent a similar email to Jesse Frasure.  In the email to Jesse, since he's A&R, I focused more on what I'm doing as an artist both as "Michael August" and my pop/country side project "Sweet Angeline".   I've definitely hit a dry spell with people getting back to me, so we'll see if this sparks any interest.

On a side note,  I noticed there was another employee that works at Major Bob named Wendi Crosby.  I could swear she plays in a society 19-piece Big Band with my co-writer, J Fred Knobloch.  I reached out to Fred today to see.  Who knows...connecting the dots may help. Stay tuned!

DAY - 351

Homework, homework and more homework.  Final's week is coming soon here at University of the Arts with a blizzard of presentations, performances and exams...bring it on baby!  The sooner I get through it, the sooner I can enjoy a nice, long, winter break.

Alright, last one... I swear....

Today I reached out to Julie Moe at (you guessed it) Ole Music Publishing.  Julie is another creative director at the Nashville office of Ole.  I figured I'd have to finish the list.  Haven't had a response back yet but we'll see.  Even if no one responds, the upside is I found a very cool publishing company to keep on the radar.  Like I was saying a little while ago, Ole is big... with offices in Nashville, LA, Toronto, etc. they handle publishing and pitching for all types of music as well as TV & Film.  Now, if only I could get a foot in the door.

Back to doing homework.  More to come.  Cheers!

DAY - 349+350

And down the line we go...

Yesterday I reached out to another Ole Music Pub rep named, Matt Turner.  Just so happens, Matt Turner is country super-star, Josh Turner's brother!  I decided to reach out to Matt, introduce myself and send him "Saying Yes" (the song Kirk Penney and I wrote with Josh Turner in mind)  Let me just make a point to say that I did not pitch Matt the song by saying "Hey!  This would be great for your bro, Josh!!".   I didn't even mention pitching Josh Turner in the email.  I figured that if he thought it'd be a great song for his brother, I'd let him make that connection.  Sure, it's wishful thinking...but who knows.

Yup...you guessed it, today I reached out to another Ole Music Pub rep...hey, it's a big company!  Debra Delshad is in charge of the Film/TV Licensing department. She also used to work in conjunction with Dreamworks.   I sent Debra "Heart On A String" and "Start of Something Good".  We'll see if she digs.

DAY - 348

Hope your Turkey Day was fantastic!  Mine was a power-packed weekend of good food, family, homework and rehearsals.  I've got a big recital coming up for school on December 7th and it's taking over my life for the next 2 weeks.  Speaking of which, it's an open recital/concert so if you happen to be in center city Philadelphia you're welcome to come watch.  I'll be singing and performing everything from Italian Arias to Pop/Rock to Jazz.  Pretty crazy, I know, but UArts wants you to be as well-rounded a musician as possible.  It'll definitely be a fun and very diverse show so feel free to email me if you're interested and I'll send you the details.  mynameisaugust@yahoo.com   Anyway, back to the grind...

Going right down the chain...today I reached out to yet another Ole Music Publishing Creative Rep.  His name is Arthur Buenahora and he is the GM of Creative at the Nashville chapter of Ole.  Figured I'd go down the list until someone gets back to me.  Haven't heard a word yet.

DAY - 347

Following yesterday's lead I found another rep from Ole Music Publishing from the LA and Toronto branch.  His name is Chad Richardson and he handles pitching and placing songs in predominately the pop market.  I decided to reach out (thinking along the lines of the Canada connection) regarding pitching Avril Lavigne, the latest song I wrote with Scot Sax.  We'll see if I get a response on this one!

Tomorrow and Friday will be a days off in honor of the Thanksgiving Holiday and no company's being open.   Hope you get your fill of Turkey and have an amazing Thanksgiving!

DAY - 346

We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams.

Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory

Productive day.  Kicked it off with an early writing session with Sweet Angeline co-writer, Liv Devine and Nashville hit writer, J Fred Knobloch.  The session was great!  We finished a brand new song.  A beautifully sparse ballad, driven by finger-style acoustic guitar and hauntingly sweet vocals that tug on the heartstrings and open the tear ducks...in my humble opinion :)   This one is truly special...one of my favorite ballads I've been a part of writing.  We finished the session by planning demo logistics.  Fred is going to be starting a track this week.  Hope to have this one for you soon.

Down to biz.  Today I reached out to Ole Music Publishing Chief Creative Director, Gilles Godard.  As you may have noticed, I've been making a point to reach out to every creative director I can.  I did some digging today and found a couple more contacts that I'll be reaching out to this week.  Stay tuned!

DAY - 345

20 days left.  I feel like I've hit a little bit of a lull.  Been digging up great contacts and sending out solid emails/phone calls, but not getting anything substantial in return over the past few weeks.   It's actually crazy to think that this is the first time in the past 345 posts that I've felt like I haven't been getting much traction.  I can definitely say I've been blessed throughout this process.  This leads me to believe that I need to spice things up a bit.  Today I had an idea.  Since I don't want divulge my idea before it actually happens, I can't give you all the details yet.  I CAN say, however, that it is an "outside-the-box" idea for pitching a song.  Might turn out really cool, might be a flop.  Either way, when I get it together I'll tell you about it...better yet...I'll show you ;)

Besides starting to work on this new pitch idea I went through the listings on Taxi.com and found one that was pretty interesting to me.  The one thing I dislike about Taxi.com is that you're not guaranteed that the listing agent will actually hear your song.  It has to go through the "TAXI Screening Process" first and then the screener (who is supposedly always a music industry pro, don't know if I totally believe that..or better yet, what's your definition of pro?) decides whether the song or songs will be forwarded along to the rep.  Obviously, I understand this is for quality assurance purposes.  For example, if a major company decides to do a listing with Taxi and Taxi forwards them a ton of crappy songs, they'll probably never list with them again.  The only issue I have is that music is so subjective.  Maybe one screener will think my stuff is PERFECT for the listing and another screener hates it!  I have a lot of forwards as well as returns through Taxi but some of the returns just drive me crazy!!  I got A LOT out of the yearly convention they hold in LA but as far as the listings go, I'm still debating how much of a tool they really are.  I guess it's all part of the game though.  Anyway, here's the listing I submitted to...I'll let you know how this one goes when I hear back...

A LEGENDARY SONGWRITER is looking for CONTEMPORARY POP SONGWRITERS to sign to his BOUTIQUE PUBLISHING COMPANY. He's looking for songwriters who can write in the stylistic range of Bruno Mars, Maroon 5, P!nk, and Taylor Swift. QUOTING THE SOURCE: "Songs must have HUGE and IMMEDIATE CHORUS HOOKS like 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' by Taylor Swift." They're looking for CLEVER lyrics -- avoid cliches and cringeworthy rhymes. This writer has had numerous cuts with MAJOR ARTISTS, so PLEASE send only your best material. They want to hear songs by artists who "know what they're doing" and can hold their own among the music that is currently topping the charts. MID-to-UPTEMPO. ONLY

DAY - 344

Apologies for the belated blog post... this is for yesterday, Friday Nov. 16th.

Woke up early from a dream about meeting with NYC publisher Lisa Johnson hah.  I actually met Lisa and her husband Doug (A&R for Curb Records in Nashville) about 2 years ago at the TAXI Convention in LA.  We shook hands and spoke briefly, but I've sent a couple emails over the past 2 years to keep in touch.  It's probably been about 6 to 8 months since I reached out, and since I had a dream about it, I decided to send over a little update :)

I told Lisa about what I've been up to and gave her new links to my stuff.  I also mentioned that I'm interested in co-writing with anyone on her team that she thinks would be a good fit.  We shall see.

Alright I gotta get going to teach some lessons (yeah I know, 9:45 on a Saturday morning)

Have a great weekend!!

DAY - 343

My writing session got cancelled today so I decided to take the extra time to do some work in the library here at school. (University of the Arts)  The home stretch of this blog project has been difficult for me in many ways, but most of all, finding NEW contacts.  The past couple weeks, I've literally been spending hours at a time digging up names and contact info for new people I want to try and connect with.  I've been scouring internet sites like Music Row Facts, NSAI, BMI, ASCAP, etc to find names and info on music industry reps that would makes sense for me to reach out to.  It's not an easy task, but it's what I set out to do... so I'm going to stop bitching now and tell you about what I found today... ;)

While checking out the NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) website,  I noticed that this week's guest speaker for the Thursday night pitch session will be industry veteran and owner of Green Hills Music Publishing, Woody Bomar.  I remember co-writer, Fred Knobloch talking to me about Woody Bomar in passing so I think that's why the name stood out to me.  Anyway,  I found some contact info for Mr. Bomar and decided to reach out.  I wrote pretty much the same spiel that seems to be working lately (short introduction, interested in development for long-term career in songwriting, love to meet next time I'm in town...yada yada, you get the point)  Go Fish.

DAY - 342

Today I reached out to creative manager at Creative Nation Music, Julie Stuckey.  Creative Nation is a Nashville based publishing company that has teamed up with Pulse recording in LA.  From the looks of it, Creative Nation is really interesting to me specifically because they seem to have their hands in both the Country AND the Pop markets.  Why is it interesting to me?  Because I write both country and pop music.  My ideal publishing company would be one that handles both country and pop music!  This is really the first smaller type publishing company I've found so far in Nashville that does both AND has great success in both, boasting songs like Little Big Town's "Pontoon" and Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream".   I'm sure there are other companies that pitch both,  I just haven't stumbled across them yet.  Google it for more info...there's a lot on Music Row Facts.

I found Creative Nation after reading through some of co-writer Jason Blume's past BMI workshops.  *Side note,  if you are a songwriter, living in or around Nashville or make trips to Nashville, I highly suggest checking out Jason Blume's (FREE!!) BMI workshops.  He is not only an amazing songwriter but a gifted and passionate teacher.  His workshops are incredible masterclass style sessions and he often brings in industry reps that will either critique your songs or listen to your song as a pitch!  Can't say enough good things about it*

Anyway, I saw that Julie Stuckey had made a guest appearance at one of these sessions so I decided to try and connect.  Now that I'm learning more about Creative Nation, I'm getting even more pumped about trying to make a connection!

DAY - 341

Long shot, Hail Mary, type of email today.  I reached out to world famous artist manager and owner of Azoff Music Management group, Irving Azoff.  Mr. Azoff handles clients presently and over the years such as Christina Aguilera, Journey, The Eagles (just to name a few) but, most importantly for me, Avril Lavigne.  Referring to yesterday, I had mentioned that I reached out to Avril's management.  Well, today I decided to take it one step further and personally reach out to the owner of her management company, Irving Azoff.  Like I said, shot in the dark, but who knows!

I merely wrote a very brief email with a quick introduction and the fact that I think the song would be perfect for Avril. (refer to yesterday)  That's all she wrote.  We'll see if I get anything back.

DAY - 337, 338, 339, 340

My apologies for the delay in posting from Wednesday-Sunday.  Just got back from a little trip to North Carolina.  My fiance Sue and I went down to meet our wedding photographers and have an engagement shoot.  We decided to extend the trip to make for a bit of a getaway.  We were on the go most of the time...enough spare time to shoot some emails out, but not to sit down and write.  One thing I have to mention about the trip (besides the photographers being a super awesome couple AND amazing at what they do) was the fish tacos we ate!!  If you are ever in Charlotte, NC you NEED to stop at a little Mexican joint called, "Cabo Fish Taco".  If you like fish tacos as much as I do, this is the mecca!  Trust me.

Anyway, here's the abbreviated scoop...

-Sent email to songplugger, Chip Hardy
-Sent email to head A &R rep Noah Gordon at Average Joe's Entertainment
-Confirmed Nashville demo session with co-writer, Eric Schwank for December 10th (recording 3 songs)
-Scheduled writing session with hit songwriter, Scot Sax for this Thursday.  We'll be writing a song for  an up and coming Australian pop singer signed to Atlantic Records!  Super pumped about this.

Which brings us to today... it took me AWHILE...but I found contact information for Avril Lavigne's management.  I'm still trying my best to get the latest song, I wrote with Scot Sax "I'm Not Practice" to Avril.  I guess since Avril is such a mainstream celeb it's harder to her people.  Well, we'll see if contacting her management gets me anywhere.  I'm SO confident the song is an obvious slam-dunk for her, I just need to get it through the door and on to some speakers.  As always, I'll keep you posted if it works!

DAY - 336

Today I reached out to McDaniel Entertainment in LA.  McDaniel is an entertainment company in charge of representing songwriters and producers.  Their focus is predominately on the producing and songwriting end of representation unlike most management firms who typically work with artists only.  I thought it would be worth reaching out to see if I could get a response.  I let them know a little backstory and that I was shopping a publishing deal.  If they dig what they hear they might really be able to help not only its shopping a deal but also with setting up great collaborations with other songwriters and producers that they represent.  As always...we shall see.

Alright time to quickly finish my Panera soup and head out to start teaching.  Have a great night!

Ps...it might get a little hairy the next couple days because I'll be traveling to North Carolina...I'll be doing my best to keep up to date.  Cheers!

DAY - 335

I am proud to say this blog post is coming to you straight from my brand new iPad!  If you know me, you'll know I'm never up to date on the latest technology.  I don't have an iPhone or any kind of smart phone for that matter, I still buy CDs and I don't own a GPS.  So as you can imagine when my amazing fiancé Susan surprised me with the iPad for my birthday I was floored!  It is truly an incredible piece of technology and I've only begun to scratch the surface.  As you can tell, I'm still excited.

Anyway, back to business.  Today I heard back from super talented producer Scott Stallone.  I emailed Scott in September, reaching out to possibly work on some projects together. I thought he just never returned my email. Turns out,  I forgot that I had messaged him on the social network LinkedIn.  I usually never check LinkedIn because if I ever get something from it, it usually comes straight to my email.  For whatever reason, it never did.  Scott actually ended up emailing me back  right away and I didn't get it til yesterday lol!  Long story short, he gave me his contact info and said he's inserted in talking about some projects.  Needless to say, I emailed him today.  Hoping to potentially make some great music together!        

Today I did something I don't normally do...I made a phone all.  Ok ok I make phone calls all the time.  What I mean to say is that I made a direct phone call to a music industry rep without sending a email first.  Just decided to go out on a limb and see if I get a response.  I called universal music group creative director Whitney Williams.  She didn't answer but I left a brief message asking if I can send her an email with my stuff.  Will it warrant a response? We shall see!

That's all for today.  Time to get back to teaching, then off to a recording session later tonight with co-writer, Eric Schwank.  Cheers!

DAY - 334

TGIF!  Just reached out today to the owner of Big Yellow Dog Music (refer to Day 331) Carla Wallace.  Same spiel.  Just figured I'd try going straight to the top Hah.  Also, I was able to do a bunch of research on new contacts to get a head start for next week.  I can't believe it...only 30 days left.   Gotta make 'em count!!

That's all she wrote for today.  Time to get some Mexican food!

DAY - 332+333

Happy November!  Songs are piling up.  Been spending time grouping songs and trying to figure out demo plans for each of them. Contacting demo studios, searching out new producers, scheduling dates, etc.  It's getting a little hectic so I spent some time yesterday beginning to map it all out.  Here's a glimpse of what's happening on the new song front.  I've got 5 new ones with long-time co-writer Eric Schwank...3-4 of which, Eric will be demoing in Nashville later this month.  Also, got a couple new ones with hit songwriter J Fred Knobloch and the Sweet Angeline team.  Just scheduled a skype session with Nashville artist/songwriter Megan Redmond (I wrote with Megan on my last trip) for next week to put the finishing tweaks on our song and plan for demoing.  The song is super catchy and definitely something we're both pumped about.  It's definitely a Pop song, but since the lines between Pop and Pop/Country are so blurred at this stage of the game we might produce it leaning on the pop country side...closer to Taylor Swift's newer stuff.  I also have 2 demos that are being produced right now.  One pop song with Sweet Angeline and another pop song with Indiana songwriter, Bill Gue and Sweet Angeline co-writer, Liv Devine.  If that isn't enough, I have a couple new My Name Is August singles on the way as well.   All good things!  Can't wait for you to hear some new stuff.

Today I reached out to VP of Sony Music Nashville A&R, Jim Catino.  I kinda got a little ballsy today and emailed Jim a brief message with a song attached.  I sent him the song, Boots with a quick message.  It was definitely a confident, "cold call" email... but.... I think that song would be a smash for Carrie Underwood or Miranda Lambert and they're both on Sony's label.   Chances are the email will go straight in the trash but there's also a chance it won't.  We shall see.

Today I also reached out to hit songwriter, Craig Bickhardt.  small WORLD!  If you've been following along you'll remember that I've been filming a mini-documentary about the blog.  Well, one of the heads of the production team, Paul Simeone has been telling me that I need to contact this great songwriter named Craig Bickhardt from PA.  Just so happens, while I was in Nashville and writing at Fred Knobloch's studio, I stumbled across a promo poster of Fred's old band SKB.  SKB stands for Schuyler, Knobloch, Bickhardt.  I asked Fred, "what's Bickhardt's first name?"  When he said, "His name's Craig" I couldn't believe it.  It IS in deed the same guy!  Turns out Fred and Craig go way back.   To make a long story short, I emailed Craig today to let him know the small worldness of this and to introduce myself.  Hoping it spirals into a co-write!

DAY - 331

Hope you made it through the storm with minimal or no damage.  To tell you the truth, we didn't even loose electricity...thank God.  Apparently some areas are out til Monday!  On account of EVERYTHING being cancelled and/or shut down due to "Sandy", I had a bunch of free time today to do some legwork.  Free time, what a concept!  Haven't had that in so long I forgot what it feels like...it's a beautiful thing.

As I was saying... I had a chance to do some research today and found contact info for Brooke Arrington.  Brooke happens to be the Creative Director at one of the most successful music publishers in not only Nashville but the US.  Big Yellow Dog Music.  I know I had mentioned them once or twice throughout the blog, but I wasn't able to find direct contact info/name until today.  I emailed Brooke with the intention of getting a chance to write with someone on the Big Yellow Dog team.  I sent her some info and links to my stuff.  We'll see if I get a bite.

Also, I was going through the newest "Pop" listings on Taxi.com and found one that "Bass Drum" fits the bill perfectly.  We'll see if they think so as well.  Here's what the listing said...

SUCCESSFUL MUSIC PUBLISHER needs POP SONGS for SUPER HOT FEMALE ARTIST working with a GRAMMY-WINNING PRODUCER. The Artist is heading into the studio very soon and needs a HIT SONG to record ASAP!
 QUOTING THE SOURCE: "We're looking for HARD and SEXY songs a la Pussy Cat Dolls, 'Single Ladies' by Beyoncé, 'S&M' by Rihanna..."
 Songs should be UPTEMPO with an UPBEAT, CONFIDENT and SEXY vibe.  PLAYFUL, LIVELY and ENERGETIC songs will work best here. FEMALE vocals only. Harmonies are a plus, but not essential. Your song MUST have a great CHORUS to be a true hit.

DAY - 330

Fantastic weekend!  Thank you for all the birthday wishes!  I had an amazing birthday weekend.  My lovely fiance, Susan and family went over the top making it a b-day to remember.  Also, had an incredible show on Friday night performing with the Liv Devine Band, Bronze Radio Return and Darlingside at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.  It was great to see all of you who came out!  Here's some highlights including a video of a brand new song called "All I Need Is A Memory" brought to you by Josh Moshen from the World Cafe's balcony!

Live Video from World Cafe: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151517170114498

Me with the Liv Devine Band

           

Bronze Radio Return

Batten the hatches and stay safe ladies and gentlemen.  Obviously not much potential for networking today.   I did however find an awesome listing on taxi.com.  I submitted the latest song I wrote with Scot Sax (the one I've been trying to get to Avril Lavigne)

CONTEMPORARY POP/POP ROCK SONGS with FEMALE VOCALS in the style of P!nk, Avril Lavigne, The Veronicas, etc., needed by an A&R Exec at a Major Label for an ICONIC ARTIST! They're looking for MID to UPTEMPO songs that have a FEEL-GOOD vibe, combining electro elements with Pop Rock guitar riffs, similar to the style of the referenced artists. Songs MUST have OUTSTANDING CHORUSES with ENGAGING hooks and lyrical concepts.

DAY - 329

World Cafe Live tonight!  Performing with Liv Devine and Bronze Radio Return.  Nice little pre- birthday show.  That's right, this Sunday is my bday.  Crazy how fast this year flew by!   If you're around Philadelphia come hang and grab a drink!    www.worldcafelive.com


Today I reached out to Steve Rivers and Morgan Tobias.  Steve and Morgan are two very talented songwriter/artists I met on this last Nashville trip.  They're both on the up and up and have some cool things going on so I wanted to drop a line to stay in touch and potential set up a writing session next time I'm in town.

That's about it for today... time to start getting ready for the show.  Have a great weekend!

DAY - 328

More craziness!  I'm getting frustrated that life happens to be SO busy during the last stretch of this blogging adventure. Making it REALLY hard to be effective this week. I did however, hear back from publishers, Shane Barrett and Natalie Harker (refer to last couple days) so that's refreshing.  Follow ups were worth it, now it's all about keeping the contacts alive and working!  Besides responding back,   I didn't get much done today except for scouring through the listings on Taxi.com.  I found this one I thought sounded pretty promising and submitted a couple songs to it.  Tomorrow I'm hoping to have some decent networking time before the show at World Cafe Live!  Here's how the listing read...

MUSIC SUPERVISOR for a HIT NETWORK TV SERIES needs COUNTRY/POP CROSSOVER SONGS a la Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Jana Kramer, Carrie Underwood, The Band Perry, Rascal Flatts, David Nail, and Eli Young Band. They're looking for great songs in all tempos with a CURRENT sound. As always, we're looking for top-notch vocal and instrumental performances. MALE and FEMALE vocals are BOTH welcome. 

DAY - 326+327

Yesterday was a whirlwind of obligations and "To Do" lists and today isn't much different.  So many important personal life things to take care of as well as stuff for school it's overwhelming.  Barely any room for networking let alone blogging!  So in advance, apologies for my brevity.

BIG show coming up this Friday evening!  Liv Devine Band featuring Michael August (that's me!) is playing an awesome show this Friday at Philadelphia's premier music venue, World Cafe Live.  We will be playing the downstair's main-stage and sharing the bill with our good friends, the amazingly talented and super fun, Bronze Radio Return!  If you live in or around Philly, DON"T miss this show.  I promise you'll love it...or your money back ;)   http://tickets.worldcafelive.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=3467 for tix in advance...and I recommend buying in advance... first off, they're cheaper and secondly they're selling fast...last time it was SOLD OUT before doors even opened!

The very small amounts of time I've had yesterday and today were spent answering and following up emails from my Nashville trip.  Speaking with co-writers about songs we've written and speaking to new co-writers about new sessions.  Publisher/songplugger, Shane Barrett has been so gracious to hook me up with yet another writer.  Planning the sessions are the tough part...so much to do so little time...such is life.

DAY - 325

Just got back late last night and was welcomed by a Psychology of Teaching Music mid-term at 8am.  Nothing like a little 80 question multiple choice / 2 essay exam to bring you back to reality.  Did most of my studying while half sleeping on the plane which hopefully my grade does not reflect.  

After classes and tall cup of coffee it was off to teaching. (Where I am presently)  Just had about an hour break and decided to start sending out follow up emails.  I wrote to Natalie Harker, Shane Barrett and a whole slew of new songwriters I met/worked with during the trip.

On a side note, I usually am not able to network on the weekends because no one is in the office. However, in Nashville it's a different story.  On Saturday night, Sue and I met up with my Canadian co-writer, Kirk Penney for a house show that he invited us to.  That's right, a house show!  The event was held in Wanda and Terry's beautiful living room in Franklin, TN.  They've started a organization  called, "It's All About Z Music" www.itsallaboutzmusic.com  in which they host writer's nights at least once a month, sometimes even more.  Not only was it a beautiful evening/event, but I met a couple really talented songwriters that I'm going to end up writing with next time I'm in town.  Random but awesome...only in Nashville.

DAY - 323 + 324

Man...what a great couple of days!  Let's see, where did I leave off...oh yeah... meeting at Cal IV music publishing!! Ok, so yesterday I met with Cal IV creative director, Natalie Harker.  The meeting went fantastic!  The only way it could have gone better was if they signed me right on the spot.   We started by chatting for awhile about my goals as a songwriter/artist, basically gave her my life story, swapped stories about how we got into music, I played a song live and then we chatted some more about Cal IV.  Overall, the meeting lasted over an hour!  I can honestly say that Cal IV had a GREAT vibe.  The place was super laid back, and had an undeniably cozy, homey and creative atmosphere in which everyone seemed to not only be working, but truly LOVING what they do....songwriters and industry folks alike.  It was like looking in on an awesome party and wanting to be invited :)   It was apparent in the hour plus meeting that Natalie is really talented at what she does and needless to say, I will be staying in touch to see where it goes!  Fingers crossed...I like parties.

After the meeting I had a fantastic writing session with the young, and very talented Megan Redmond.  Megan is a 16 year-old singing/songwriting sensation and people in town are talking.   The writing session was organized by music publisher/song-plugger, Shane Barrett.  Shane thought it'd be a good collaboration and I have to say, he was right.  I can't say enough about our writing session.  We spent about 4 hours and came out with a fully written, kick-ass, pop song that'll have you singing in your sleep.  Can't wait to tie up any loose ends and demo this one!

Woke up bright an early this morning for a writing session with Fred Knobloch.  Kind of a random day, but really fun.  We spent about 2 hours tweaking lines to the song we had finished on Wednesday, then hopped in the car and met up with Fred's friend, hit songwriter, Thom Schuyler.  We met Thom at a local church and from there hopped into a food truck, drove to a homeless shelter and handed out gourmet cooked meals to local folks in need.  It was amazing.  It's called the Nashville Food Project and they do it every 3rd Friday of the month.  The people we're so excited and appreciative.

Now I'm chilling out at the local Starbuck's killing time.  My fiance Sue is in flight as we speak and I'm waiting to pick her up at the airport.  From there, we're heading straight over to the famous Bluebird Cafe where hit writer's, Tony Arata, Thom Schuyler and J Fred Knobloch are performing one of their wildly popular "writer's in the round"!   Should be a great night...not to mention, Fred comped us tickets and great seats!  AND... just so happens,  one of my co-writers, Canadian songwriter, Kirk Penney is in town  as well and will be meeting us at the show tonight!  

What an awesome trip so far.  If anything else happens this weekend I'll keep you posted on Monday.  Have a great weekend.  Cheers!!

DAY 321+322

Apologies for the delay!   Other than going to class and teaching I spent all free time on Tuesday getting ready for the trip.  Making last minute calls, sending last minute emails, crossing my t's and dotting my i's.  

Flew into Nashville at 11:30am EST and arrived 12:23pm CST.  Not bad at all.  Hats off to Southwest for being the smoothest, friendliest, airline I've flown to date.  As soon as I got off the flight, I hopped into a rental and drove to J Fred Knobloch's studio.  Fred and I worked all day/night finishing up a song we've been working on and game planning some meeting tactics and pitching ideas.  Great day!  Checked into my lovely room at the Holiday Inn (which my fiance Susan so graciously priceline booked for me) around 1am and crashed.

I'm in Starbucks on West End Ave at the moment awaiting my meeting with Cal IV Entertainment.  First official meeting with a top notch publishing company!!  After that, it's off to a writing session with rising country star Megan Redmond.  Wish me luck!  

Stay tuned more to come!

DAY - 320

For the first time, I'm REALLY starting to feel the strain of having too many things on my plate.  I started this Fall semester off ready and raring to go, but it's honestly catching up to me.  Maybe it's just all the rainy weather, but I'm starting to feel the stress of teaching one too many lessons, attending one too many classes, writing one too many songs, playing one too many gigs, sending one too many emails, etc, ect, etc...I can truly say that I now understand the expression, "don't spread yourself too thin".   This morning I caught myself walking around in a daze, making "to do" lists and forgetting what I had "to do" as I'm writing the list!  I don't mean to complain.  I mean... EVERYONE is busy... I'm not trying to play that card.  I think I just need to vent.  Wow, I'm already feeling a little better.  My apologies for unloading on you.  Thanks for listening. :)  

But, that's not why we're here!  Let's down to business.  I spent the last hour sending emails confirming everything that will be going on in Nashville this week.  I'm getting really excited for this trip.  It's honestly going to be the most power-packed 5 days in Music City to date.  So far, I've got 4 writing sessions, 3 meetings, a couple shows and a weekend of wedding planning.  Getting it done baby!   Even though it's going to be a packed 5 days, I'm looking forward to not only the change of scenery, but the change in routine.  Should be a refreshing week.  I promise not to leave out any details so stay tuned.  Cheers!  

DAY - 319

Another one-two punch kinda morning.  In the spirit of it being crunch time, I reached out to 2 new people today.

The first of which is successful NY/NJ songwriter, Jon D'Agostino.  Just got an email this morning from Nashville publisher, Shane Barrett letting me know that he thought it'd be a great idea to hook up with Jon for a writing session.  Jon is another writer that works with Shane (like Jane Bach and Megan Redmond whom I'll be meeting with next week) I got the chance to check out Jon's stuff and it's fantastic.  His style is indeed similar to mine so I think it'd be a cool session.  I reached out to Jon this morning introducing myself and seeing if he'd be interested in getting together.

The second person I contacted today was Stuart Dill from Octogan Entertainment. (refer to day 316)  Turns out Stuart no longer works for Sanctuary.  He is now heading up the Nashville branch of Octogan, a sports and entertainment company.  I got an email from family friend, Peter who said he had reached out to him to let him know about me and that I should drop a line as well... so I did.

That's all for today.  Now it's time to do some practicing.  TGIF!  Have a great weekend!

DAY - 317 + 318

I'm noticing a trend here... seems as though Wednesday are extra hard to get time in to blog.  I've had to postpone 3 weeks in a row now.  My apologies.  No slacking on the networking front though!   Here's what's been going on...

DAY - 317
Today I came up with a cool idea (at least I think it's cool) If you've been following, you'll remember that we (Sweet Angeline and Jason Blume) were working on lyric edits for "20/20" to potentially give it a younger, fresher vibe, that will in turn give us more pitching options.  Well, not only did we have demo singer, Paul Scott re-sing this new version, but I also sang another version to give it a younger, popp-ier vibe.  My idea came to me yesterday when I realized that Lady Antebellum is looking for songs for a new record.  I thought, "man...20/20 would be a SMASH for them!"  So... I asked Sweet Angeline co-writer, Liv Devine if she wanted to sing some female background harmonies to make the pitch to Lady A even a stronger sell! Since Lady A is a guy/girl vocal group I figured this might give it a nice edge.  Long story short,  J Fred Knobloch happens to know Paul Worley, Lady A's producer, and I called Fred to ask for an assist with the pitch.  Needless to say,  Fred being the amazing man that he is, agreed to help make the pitch.  So there you have it.  Recording Liv's vocals on Tuesday and making the pitch to Lady A next week (hopefully while I'm in town!) Let's keep the fingers crossed it happens!

DAY - 318 
Today I sent an email out to hit songwriter and publisher, Derek George from Wide Open Music Group.  I had contacted Derek earlier in the blog, but never had his personal email address.  Yesterday, while I was doing some research I stumbled across his actual email address and decided to send an email over today.   Crazy how small Nashville actually is...after sending the email out around 11am I had a phone call with J Fred and it turns out J Fred Knobloch works with Derek on the regular!

Speaking of J Fred Knobloch....did anyone catch the series premier of "Nashville"??  If you were paying close attention to the Bluebird Cafe scene...that was actually J Fred playing!!  Amazing!

DAY - 316

What's with this weather!?  Give me some nice, crisp, fall air, with the smell of burning firewood...not this freezing, rainy crap.  Everyone around me is getting sick... friends, students, classmates...loading up    this week on the Emergen-C.  Anyway...

In the spirit of kicking it up a notch (refer to yesterday) I doubled up on contacts today.  I started off the morning by sending an email out to Alex Heddle, creative manager of Tom-Leis Music, a publishing company in Nashville.  I reached out to Alex the same way I've been reaching out to every other creative director...a simple email, introducing myself, explaining my goals and including a link to my stuff.  We'll see if I get a bite on this one.

The second contact was a little more random.  I happened to run into a good friend of the family on Saturday night while I was out grabbing some drinks with my Uncle.  After we got to talking a little bit, catching up and what not, I started telling him about my pursuit in songwriting and plans to move to Nashville.  Well, it just so happens he "knows a guy" (yeah yeah, everyone knows a guy)....but this "guy" happens to be legit.  Stuart Dill is his name and he is the president of Sanctuary Management in Nashville.  Sanctuary manages acts such as Fleetwood Mac, Lonestar, Steve Azar, Velvet Revolver, etc.  Not only is Stuart the President of the Nashville chapter, but he is a long-time industry veteran!  Long story short, Peter (friend of the fam) told me to email him some info and he will forward to Stuart and call to make the introduction!  So needless to say, I sent over an email today.  Let's hope for the best! Fingers crossed there'll be more to come on this.  Cheers!

DAY - 315

Just started teaching lessons for the day,  but I was able to snag some free time in between to get some stuff done.   Today I reached out to Penny Everhard, writer/publisher relations at BMI.  I am an ASCAP writer so why would I reach out to a BMI rep, you ask?  Well, after doing some research I found out that Penny not only used to work for a Nashville publisher called Love Monkey Music, but she also does some independent publishing work.  From the looks of it, besides being a talented publisher and music industry pro, Penny is very immersed and connected in the Nashville scene.  I've also heard she has a great ear for fresh music.  Long story short, I figured it was worth trying to connect.   I sent her an email merely introducing myself and asking if she'd be up for listening to some of my stuff.  We shall see.

At this stage of the game, I'm on day 315, only 50 days to go.  If you haven't noticed already, I've been been focusing strongly on the Nashville scene.  I'm going down next Wednesday so I want to make it as impactful of a trip as possible.   Yes, I've been going full steam for the past 315 days, but I'm gonna find a way to go even harder these last 50 days.  I feel so close I can taste it,  yet seemingly so far away.    If you know ANYONE you think I should reach out to, don't hesitate to email me.  Cheers!

mynameisaugust@yahoo.com

DAY - 314

Approaching the end of another hard week.  Brain is fried, body is tired...thank God for Emergen-C.

Today I sent an email to hit producer Rob Chiarelli.  I sent him "20/20" in case he was working with or going to be working with any pop country artists.  A lot of times I hear about an artist cutting a song because it came from the producer.  A lot of songwriters and publishers reach right out to the producer because they tend to have a lot of say about the record.  I know Rob has worked with artists like Leann Rimes in the past, so I figured it might be a good idea to send it over and stay on the radar.

I did a bunch of research on contacts for next week.  I was able to dig up some cool names and emails.  Also, I should have a couple new songs to release by next week so stay tuned!

Have a great weekend.  Cheers!

DAY - 312 + 313

busywork:-(n) bus·y·work ; bize-wûrk': Activity, such as schoolwork or office work, meant to take up time but not necessarily yield productive results.

....that defines the majority of my day yesterday... apologies for the delay on this post...

DAY - 313
Today was yet another crazy busy day!  Got together in the A.M. with Sweet Angeline co-writer, Liv Devine and Nashville hit songwriter, J Fred Knobloch via Skype.  We had another great session.  Whittling away at the new song idea we started last week.  It's a beautiful country ballad with some very cool and different chord and melody choices.  Looking forward to finishing this one and making it truly special.

Yesterday, I also heard back from Allie at Manic Monkee Music. (refer to day 296)  She said she LOVED "Start of Something Good" and is keeping it on file for future use.  Nice!!  I wrote back and sent her a link to my catalog letting her know that if she's interested she can take a listen to more.    Hopefully this turns into a placement for TV/Film!

DAY - 314
After finishing up an 8:30am class I shot over to producer, Chris Zurzolo's studio today.  From there we drove over to his partner Paul Simeone's studio to do some more filming for the documentary.   I'll tell you what...it's a blast!  I always knew Chris was a fantastic audio engineer and producer but Chris and Paul do some unbelievable work when it comes to video production.  The look, feel and flow of this documentary style piece is really coming together and it's amazing.  Can't wait for you to see it!

Today I reached out to songwriter and A&R rep for Roots Three Music Publishing, Denny Carr.  I stumbled across Denny after doing some more research on Nashville publishing companies.  Roots Three is actually a subsidiary of the larger Ole Publishing.  I sent Denny an email introducing myself and giving him a link to my catalog.  We'll see if he digs.

DAY - 311

Power-packed day of music.  Kick started the day with a recording with co-writer Eric Schwank.  Eric and I got together to start recording solid work tape demos for the 4 songs we're going be recording professionally in Nashville.  We ironed out all the details and got a lot finished today.  These 4 songs are really strong.  Eric and I have been writing together for roughly 8 years now and it still amazes me how talented of a writer he really is.   It's very cool to look back over the past 8 years and see how far we've come and know that we still LOVE working together!  Can't wait for you to hear our new songs!

Got a chance to pop into Panera Bread for a quick bite and some networking time. (Black Bean soup is killer!) Today I reached out to Art House Music Publishing in LA.  I pitched them the song that Scot Sax and I wrote.  They seem to be a fantastic publishing company (Owned by mega hit writer and former American Idol judge, Kara Dioguardi)  and I'd love to spark some interest.  Thought this song would be a good start.  We shall see.

Alright, off to teaching a couple guitar lessons then back to Philly for a late night recording session with producer, Chris Zurzolo.  See you tomorrow!

DAY - 310

Today I reached out to Barbara Sedun at EMI Music Publishing Canada regarding pitching a song to Avril Lavigne.  (The latest song I wrote with Scot Sax)  Barbara Sedun is the Senior Vice President of EMI Music Publishing Canada.   She's been in the music publishing biz for a while and is a key player in Canada, working hand in hand with artists and songwriters who cross over into the states as well.

Knowing that Avril Lavigne was originally a Canadian artist,  I figured I'd reach out to Barbara on the off chance that she might have worked with Avril or someone from Avril's camp in the past and might have a first degree connection.   I sent Barbara an mp3 of the song and the lyric sheet to see if she agrees that it would be a GREAT pitch for Miss Lavigne.  Hoping she digs it.  We'll see!

DAY - 309

GREAT writing session with J Fred Knobloch and Sweet Angeline co-writer, Liv Devine today.  We wrapped up and put the finishing touches on one song and started a brand new ballad that's feeling really good so far.  We haven't dug into a nice ballad since we've been writing together. Sometimes I feel like ballads (especially country ballads) are the hardest songs to write.  Not only is there little room for them on the radio, but they need to be knock your socks off, spectacular to hold someone's attention and gain traction when pitching.  All the really great ballads are just so timeless.  Have you ever heard "I Can't Make You Love Me"?  That song kills me every time I hear it!  Mike Reid (the guy who wrote that song) just wrote another amazing ballad that's on Kenny Chesney's new record, it's called, "Always Gonna Be You".   I seriously cannot listen to the song without getting choked up.  It's incredible.  You can check it out if you google it.  My only disclaimer is (don't tell Kenny Chesney I said this) Mike Reid actually sings it better.  Long story short, the bar is really high when it comes to ballads.  Regardless, the one we just started is beautiful and I can't wait to see where it goes.

Fred filled us in on his meeting with Cliff Audretch from ShowDog Records.  He said, it went great, Cliff loved the stuff, and loved the sound.  Another iron in the fire!  Let's keep 'em coming baby.

Today I emailed, Josh McGhee from McGhee Entertainment.  Josh is Darius Rucker's manager. (refer to day 102)  I decided to pitch Darius Rucker, "Saying Yes".   Shot in the dark but we'll see.  If you haven't heard "Saying Yes" yet, I just posted it yesterday.  You can check it out here! http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/saying-yes

Today, I also heard back from Red Rocks Studio and Sony Music producer, Mark Wolff.  Mark was reaching out to update me regarding the future country project he's going to be working on.   He mentioned that it hasn't gotten off the ground yet, but is expected to soon and that he's really looking forward to showcasing my stuff to the artist and her management/investment team.  I'm pumped!  It was really cool of Mark to reach out and keep in touch.  It's a nice show of good faith that he truly is interested in the songs.  Hoping this could lead to something awesome in the near future.

Have a great weekend!

DAY - 307+308

My apologies for the delay.  Here's what been happening yesterday (Wed. Sept. 26th) and today.

Woke up bright an early at 6am again on Wednesday to record another, more rockin', in your face version of the jingle for Toyota Universe. (refer Day 306)  Knocked that out and sent it over at about 10am.   They love the new version as well and will be showing both to the client.  After sending over the new jingle I had a bit of time to do some legwork.  I found out that Trace Adkins is looking for songs for a new record.  Trace Adkins is signed to ShowDog Universal.  If you've been following along you'll know that Cliff Audretch III is head of A&R at ShowDog so I decided to send a song to Cliff.

Ohh...btw... speaking of the song!  I finally posted it to my catalog yesterday for your listening pleasure!  Please take a listen to "Saying Yes" written with Canadian singer-songwriter, Kirk Penney.  If you haven't guessed already, that's the one I pitched to Trace Adkins.

After an early morning (8:30am) class I came straight to the library to do some work.  I have some time to kill before going to producer, Chris Zurzolo's studio in Manayunk, PA.  Today I'm going to be recording vocals and doing a bit more filming with Chris and Paul Simeone. (refer day 304) While I have some time to kill, I reached out to Carie Long, also A&R at ShowDog.  I figured it couldn't hurt to send the song to both Cliff and Carie.  I'm really hoping they dig it.  I think Trace Adkins would really nail the tongue & cheek nature of the lyric.  Here's hoping.  Cheers!

DAY - 306

Whew!  What a day so far.   6:30am wake up, got to the studio by 7:30am, Toyota jingle written, produced and recorded by 11am. (refer to yesterday)  Off to school by noon to meet with financial services (more headaches) and do some observation hours.  Had a quick hour to sit and do some networking before classes start and teaching begins for the rest of the night.  My apologies for not posting the new song yet!  I know I promised it would be up by yesterday, but I haven't had a chance to actually sit and let it upload to my catalog site.  Will do as soon as possible!

Speaking of the new song, I sent it to publishers and song-pluggers, Michael Martin and Shane Barrett today.  If you've been following all the while, you already know that both Michael and Shane are well-connected Nashville reps with many successful placements so I'm really pumped to see what they think. Kirk Penney (my co-writer) already started pitching it as well.  To tell you the truth, I'm super-excited about this song.  I know I always say that, but I really have a good feeling about this one.  I actually got the chance to show it to my dad and mom (who are both professional musicians) over the weekend and they both said, "This is honestly the best song you've showed us in a long time!"  And let me tell you, coming from a family of pro musicians, I don't get ANY slack.  If it's not up to par, I'm gonna hear about it!  Kirk said he's been getting fantastic response on his end as well.  So we'll see.  I will post ASAP and you let me know what you think and if you have any pitching ideas.  Thanks!

Also, just heard back from Greg at Stream Companies.  They love the jingle and will be showing it to the client today!!  Got past the first step, now the client needs to love it.  Fingers crossed.  Greg also sent me another email asking for a more "kicked up, rockin', in your face" version of the jingle to show the client as well.  I'll be taking care of that tomorrow morning.   Stay tuned.

DAY - 305

Cool news...Today I was just asked to do a jingle for Toyota Universe!   Let me back up a little bit...

To make a long story short,  I reached out (over a year ago) to Greg Press, an advertising rep from Stream Companies in Philadelphia, regarding my interest in doing some jingle work for their clients.  Greg let me know that he'd have the company check out my stuff and get back to me if they'd like to use me.  Well, I just got an email from Greg and his colleague, Dave regarding working on a Jingle for Toyota Universe.   I'm really pumped!  Doing jingles is a fun and creative way to make some serious extra money.  The ONLY draw back is, most jingles are done on what is called "spec"...meaning that there is no guarantee that they will actually use my jingle.  If they do decide they love it and want to use it, then and only then will I actually get paid for my work.

Hah, I know sounds rough, but it's just the nature of the beast.  I'm gonna take a crack at it...wish me luck!!

DAY - 304

Apologies for the delay...this blog post covers, Friday September 21st.  

It's ironic that I didn't have time to post a blog on Friday,  because I literally spent the entire day talking about it!   Believe it or not, I'm in the midst of filming a mini-documentary style piece about "Making it 365" and myself as a songwriter/performer.   I was actually approached by my long-time mixing engineer and producer, Chris Zurzolo and his partner, Paul Simeone.  They have a film and video production company and they we're looking to do a portrait on an artist and approached me about 2 weeks ago.  They thought this whole blogging adventure would make for a great angle and a fresh piece!  Can't express how exciting it is to film this project.  Can't wait for you to see it... hell, I can't wait for me to see it!

Spoke with co-writer, J Fred Knobloch today.  He was actually on his way to another pitch meeting for our stuff!  Today Fred is meeting with head of A&R for ShowDog records, Cliff Audretch III.  Small world because if you've been following, you'll notice that I've been in touch with Cliff for a while now.  Really cool to see things come full-circle in a way.  We shall see what happens!

Got the final version of my latest song with Canadian/Nashville singer-songwriter, Kirk Penney today.  I couldn't be happier.  Can't wait for you to hear it.  Will post tomorrow...stay tuned!

DAY - 303

The next step in your life’s work may not be to read another book or spend one more hour practicing.  It may require you to pick up the phone, attend a conference, or buy someone lunch.  - Author, Jeff Goins

Heard back from Dana Parish today! (refer to Day 300)  Dana let me know that she got my email and would be forwarding to her husband for future consideration.  Nice!  I wrote Dana back thanking her and expressing my appreciation.  If you've never heard Dana Parish you should definitely check her out www.danaparish.com.  She's a fantastic writer as well as artist and she has been a source of wisdom and experience for yours truly along the way.

Also, got an email from my Canadian co-writer, Mr. Kirk Penney last night with a rough mix of our newest demo.  Sounds AWESOME so far!!  Can't wait for you to hear it,..I can't wait to start pitching it...I'm pumped to say the least.  Will post ASAP.  For those interested, we did the demo at Studio 19 in Nashville.  I could not be in attendance, but Kirk handled the direction of the session and did a fantastic job.

Alright, time to do some writing!

DAY - 302

Today I spent all morning working on a song that J Fred Knobloch and I started a little while back.  We never actually ended up finishing it, but I always had an affinity towards the idea and the song in general so I thought I'd take a stab at finishing it.  After re-working a bunch of sections and writing a bridge,  I'm really happy with the outcome!  It's super-tight, really catchy and still... a GREAT idea.  There's probably a few little tweaks here and there that need to made, but I sent it to Fred to see what he thinks and to see if we wants to do a demo.

I reached out to Clay Myers at Big Tractor Music Publishing in Nashville.  Same deal as I've been doing... quick introduction, followed by my spiel about pursuing a career as a writer, yahda, yahda, etc, etc, don't want to bore you with the details.  Anyway, looking forward to potentially hearing back from Clay.  He's an industry veteran and Big Tractor is a killer independent publisher with a great track record of hits.

Alright, I'm off to class.  Have a great rest of the day!

DAY - 301

Apologies in advance for the brevity of this post.  I'm running around like a crazy man today and the clock is ticking before my next private lesson begins...

Kicked off the day early with a great skype writing session with Sweet Angeline and J Fred Knobloch. We're whittling away at the last details of the song we began 2 weeks ago.  It's a great idea, but definitely a hard write.  Melodies are killer and the subject matter is pretty cool and outside the box as well.  Looking forward to knocking this one out!

I reached out to Alex Torrez from TMG today because I found out he was looking for songs for George Strait.  I sent Alex an email with a couple songs... "Love Takes Work" and "Heart On A String".  "Heart On A String" might be a stretch but he used to cut that sorta thing...maybe he'll dig it.  I also sent J Fred a text to let him know as well.  You can check both out here... www.mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com

Also,  keeping fingers crossed.  J Fred has a meeting scheduled today with Sony Music Nashville to play them songs!  Hoping we get the same response as Universal

DAY - 300

Day 300.  The number 300 snuck up on me today and now it's staring me in the face.  I wasn't expecting to write a blog about Day 300 just yet.   It's exciting, scary, overwhelming and a multitude of other things all at the same time.   I don't really know where I thought I'd be by the 300th day of this adventure.  I can certainly say that I've come ALONG way...but there is still a ways to go.  Moving into the home-stretch, I can honestly say that I've never felt more prepared to reach a goal in all my life.   I can also honestly say that I've never put so much in to reaching a goal.  So much blood, sweat and tears have gone into this operation (ok maybe not blood)  that it's a little sad to see it winding down.   Well, what can I say...65 days left.  Let's make 'em count!

Today I emailed, long-time family friend, successful songwriter, and mentor, Dana Parish.  Dana is an amazing artist and songwriter whom I have mentioned earlier and throughout the blog.  Today I reached out to Dana to say hi, update her on everything that's going on and send some material her way.  Dana's husband happens to be in the film scoring industry and has a lot of success supervising and scoring music for movies.   I thought I'd reach out to send over "Heart On A String" to see if he may have any thoughts/ideas.  I believe whole heartedly that the song is perfect for a variety of movie scenes and I just need to get it into the right hands.  If he likes the song I also offered to send more over.  Composing songs and music for TV/Film is a huge outlet for a songwriter.  Anything I can do to get a foot in the door is a step in the right direction.

DAY - 299

Got together with long time friend, bandmate and co-writer, Eric Schwank today to do some writing.  Eric and I have about 5 or 6 songs in the works at the moment and we're making plans to demo at least 4 of them in Nashville.  The songs are very strong and every time we get together we spend some time tightening everything up.  Today we discussed demo studios and found some cool options that we're looking into further.  Really looking forward to getting this stuff recorded!  I'm actually hoping to have some ready for my meeting with Cal IV Entertainment on October 18th... little more than a month away... might be cutting it close but we'll see.

Ok, got some awesome news in the form of a phone call and email from LA.  I spoke with co-writer Scot Sax and he had a meeting with a REALLY cool and well-known artist (who will remain nameless at this point) and their management yesterday.  Turns out, said artist and management, LOVES the latest song we wrote!!   This doesn't mean that they're cutting it, but it's definitely a great first encounter.  Keeping my fingers crossed tightly and saying my prayers.   Happy Friday!

DAY - 297+298

Apologies for the delay.  My currently inflexible schedule has been preventing me from being able to sit and write.  Here's what's been happening yesterday and today.


Day - 297

Today was spent writing with Tyler James and J Fred Knobloch as well as sending out emails and making plans for the upcoming Nashville trip.  Scheduling sessions and requesting meetings etc.  Trying to make the most out of the short 5 day trip.  Reached out to ASCAP to schedule the Wednesday night pitch session.

Day - 298

Today I did some more research on both Nashville and LA publishing companies.  Since I write just about as much Pop music as I do Country, I 'd love to meet with a publisher who has their hands deep in both markets.  I stumbled across Ole Publishing.  Ole has offices in both Nashville, LA and even Toronto.  I was able to dig up some contacts and decided to reach out.  I sent emails to both Mike Sebastian and Chad Richardson.  Mike and Chad are both creative directors in charge of placing songs and finding new talent so I figured it'd be a good place to start!

That's all for now.  I'm heading down to the studio to work on some new music.  Hope you enjoy the rest of the day.  Cheers!

DAY - 296

Kicked off the day early with a Skype writing session with the Sweet Angeline team and J Fred Knobloch.  Went great!  Got through the bulk of a brand new idea that J Fred brought to the table.  Sounding really cool so far...along the lines of Eli Young Band meets Love and Theft.  Getting together with J Fred and Tyler again tomorrow to try to finish up.

I sent a bunch of emails out today just tightening up my itinerary for the next Nashville trip. (Oct. 17th-21st)  Scheduled a session with J Fred Knobloch on the 17th and another possible session with Sony writer,  Heather Longstaffe on the 18th.

Today I also reached out to Manic Monkee Music.  Manic Monkee handles a ton of commercial film and tv placement.  I sent them a couple songs to see if they thought they could use for commercial advertising placements.  Fingers crossed...as usual.

DAY - 295

Enjoying a little downtime at the moment.  Just got back from school and I don't teach until 4pm so I've been taking advantage of a little window of time on this beautiful Monday to relax.   You know Fall is just around the corner when the smell of pumpkin flavored everything permeates the air of you're favorite coffee joint.  I swore I would wait a little longer,  but I gave in and bought my first pumpkin coffee of the season today.  I figured the cooler weather justified my decision.  It was well worth it.  I love Fall and even more, I love me some pumpkin.  Pumpkin coffee, pumpkin beer, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin bread, you name it.  Anyway, I could talk about how much I love the Fall season and pumpkins all day, but that's not why we're here.  Let's get down to business.

Today I researched and contacted Liz Rose Music.  LRM is an independent publishing company founded by world renown songwriter, Liz Rose.  Liz Rose is most known for her accomplishments with Taylor Swift.  Just wiki her name and you'll find a ton of info!  Anyway, she started a publishing company in Nashville.  I feel like reaching out to Liz and her staff is a good idea for me personally because they truly seem to understand the pop side of the country market and that's where I'm the strongest.  I wrote an email explaining my intentions and left a link to my catalog so we shall see.

Alright, I'm off to start teaching.  Enjoy the day!