DAY - 188

"Brevity is the soul of wit" - Shakespeare

Crazy Day!  I literally have 5 minutes to write this post so I'm gonna laundry list it.  Apologies for the brevity.  :)

1) Had an early morning recording session and worked on the mix of a brand new demo to be released next week!

2) Had a writing session and started a brand new song with 'Sweet Angeline' co-writer Liv Devine.  The song start sounds amazing..can't wait to see where it goes!  

3)  Heard back from Jody Friedman from HD Music Now.  He LOVES "Heart On A String" and he does indeed have contacts at Disney... Hell yeah!

4) Heard back from Paul Majors.  Paul put the word out about "Heart On A String" to his connections at Disney....hasn't heard anything back yet though.

5) Heard back from hit songwriter, Ross Golan.  Very cool email... he really digs "20/20" so I wrote back and asked if he'd like to collaborate on something else.  I sent him a new idea I've been working on to see if it sparks some interest.

6)  Just heard back from Philadelphia hit songwriter, Scot Sax.  Looks like we're going to be getting together next Tuesday for a writing session.  Looking forward to it!

Have a great weekend and stay tuned!

DAY - 187

I've spent the last hour trying to get leads on Disney Pixar.  I contacted Paul Majors in Nashville and Jody Friedman in LA.  Both of whom are music licensing reps for TV & Film...both of whom I've been in touch with throughout the past couple months.  Just wanted to reach out and see if either of them had any connections or ideas.  We'll see.  

Mitchell Leib is the president of Music at Disney Motion Picture Studio but getting to him is the hard part.   I went out on a limb today and sent him a message on the social network Linked In.  I don't know if he actually uses it, but I figured it be worth a try.  That's it for today!  If anyone knows anyone who works or has worked for Disney...let me know!  Cheers :)

DAY - 186

Today I reached out to Warner Chappell songwriter, Ross Golan.  Ross is a talented, young, writer with a brilliant list of credits to his name already.  Just google him and you can read some great articles!  From what I understand, through some of the articles I've read, his style and concept is very similar to my own.  So, needless to say, I reached out to introduce myself.  I briefly let him know what I do/my goals and sent him some links to my music. I finished the email by letting him know I'm interested in working on something together and that I have a great idea I think he would dig.

The more I collaborate with other songwriters, the more I realize how each co-writer not only brings something different to the table, but even more importantly, brings something different out of me.  Over the past 6 months, I've begun branching out even more and writing with some amazing people and to be honest... it has rubbed off... ultimately making me a better writer.

On that note,  its time to relax and watch some Food Network.  Restaurant Impossible is on and I'm addicted.  Cheers!

DAY - 185

Today I got together with 'Sweet Angeline' to do some rehearsing for a couple gigs we have coming up.  If you're in the South Jersey area, we'll be playing Bowl For Kid's Sake on April 21st at Laurel Lanes in Mount Laurel, NJ in support of Big Brother's Big Sister's organization.  Feel free to come hang out and catch the show! After rehearsing, we started working on a song that J Fred Knobloch sent us.  He wrote an upbeat, energetic pop song with another great Nashville writer and they want us to demo sing the vocals for them.  The tune is a lot of fun.... definitely not a bad gig :)  After working on that, we started developing a new song idea. Great hook! We'll see where it goes.  Anyway, kind of all over the map, but all in all it was a productive day for making music!

Down to business, as far as networking goes... I heard back from Downtown Music Publisher, Jeremy Yohai. (refer to yesterday) He let me know that he thought the song was good and the production was really solid, but he thought the hook could be a little more interesting. Although it didn't sound like it blew him away, I really appreciate his critique on this one.   I wrote him back and thanked him for the kinds words and feedback.  

Speaking of Downtown Music... Today I also talked to Downtown Music hit songwriter, Scot Sax.  Scot is a fantastically talented, Grammy-winning, singer-songwriter and inspirational person in general. www.scotsax.com  (Scot is actually the person who introduced me to Jeremy Yohai at a workshop he hosted back in the Summer)  Anyway, we've had a writing session brewing for a little while so I got in touch today to try and set up some times.  Stay tuned! 

DAY - 184

Hope you had a great weekend.  Mine was pretty low key.  Worked at my sister's Bakery (www.sweettbakes.com) , Celebrated my Mom's birthday, and did some light recording work.  Is it just me, or do the weekends seem to go by faster than ever?!

Today I sent "Bass Drum" http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/bass-drum-dance-pop to Downtown Music Publisher, Jeremy Yohai.  If you've been reading, you'll have seen Jeremy's name pop up a bunch of times throughout the blog.  I've been keeping in touch with him ever since the summer.  He's been digging a lot of the tunes I've sent over but I'm hoping to blow him away with something in hopes that he might want to start pitching something (offer me a single-song publishing deal).  We shall see.  Big week ahead...stay tuned!

DAY - 183

Apologies for the delay...this blog post covers yesterday: Friday, March 23rd

Power packed day! Started off with a 9am recording session.  Ian Brick, a fantastic guitarist and bass player came to the studio to record bass on a new demo I'm producing with Sweet Angeline.  In no time at all, he laid down some amazing parts that fit the song perfectly.  If anyone reading needs guitar or bass work done, I will gladly recommend Ian for the job!  

Also, pertaining to the same demo, I just received a pedal steel guitar part via email straight from Nashville!  (That's right, I said via email)  I was able to connect with Jason Roller, owner of Magic Shack Demos in Nashville. I emailed him a rough mix mp3 file of our demo, gave him a little direction,  and he recorded a killer pedal steel part on the song and emailed it back to me... he literally nailed it!  Exactly what I was looking for.  I said it before, but I'll say it again...aahh the wonders of modern technology.  

I'm so glad I made this connection with Jason.  Now anytime I need an authentic 'country' sounding instrument (fiddle, pedal steel, banjo, mandolin, etc) I can get it done perfectly without wasting any of my time on the phone trying to find musicians or in the studio recording the part.  Its like finding another great piece to the puzzle.   Can't wait to get this new one finished up so you can hear it.  Stay tuned!

Have a great weekend!

DAY - 182

Today officially marks the half-way point of my blogging adventure!!  Crazy how fast the days go by.  I'm truly amazed at what can be accomplished within a short period of time if you keep at it everyday!   If you asked me 6 months ago if I thought the doors would be open to be able to pitch songs to artists like Keith Urban I would have said..."yeah, I wish!"  Well, it happened...and its happening every other week!  Now that more and more doors seem to be opening, I have to push even harder to attain that sought after "First Cut" (the first time you land a song on a major artist's album)  And...as we journey into the second half of this blogging adventure...that's exactly what I am going to do.  Wish me luck ;)

In the spirit of kicking things up a notch:

Today I talked to Fred Knobloch who informed me he would be calling Michael Martin at ASCAP Nashville to see if he could start a fire and get some heat behind "Heart On A String".  I submitted "Bass Drum" to the "Xercise Lab"....its a work out company looking to license dance songs for work out music.    I reached out to producer and production company owner, Jake McKim at Birch Street Music.  www.birchstreetmusic.com   Jake does A&R and song consulting for major labels and artists such as Beyonce.  I figured I'd try to connect and see if he digs anything I'm working on.  And last but not least, I contacted Ric Robbins at Incorporated Elements Music.  IEM is a 3 time Grammy nominated production team with tons of placements across the musical spectrum.  I found out that they're looking for new writers to collaborate with, so I sent an email basically stating my goals as a writer and included links to my catalog.  

*Note:  If YOU know someone you think I should contact please let me know and I'll do it the next day!  Here's my email: mynameisaugust@yahoo.com 

DAY - 181

It was back to the studio this morning where I started off the day singing & recording my first Hip Hop chorus "hook".   Camden city,  NJ Hip Hop group, the NU - TREEZ asked if I could sing the chorus for a song set to release on their forth-coming album. You can check them out here...  http://www.treezup.com/fr_nutreez.cfm   It was a blast recording the vocals...looking forward to hearing the finished track!

After the studio session,  I chatted with J Fred Knobloch a bit.  We're getting a game plan together about how and where we're going to record our latest song demo.  I also got the full finished mix of "Heart On A String" from Fred.  Check it out here  http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/ 

I also emailed a copy of "Bass Drum" to Ryan Beuschel at ASCAP Nashville.  We'll see if he digs this one.

That's it for today...more to come this week!

DAY - 180

What a long day!  Its 11pm and I'm finally getting a chance to chill out.  The day got started early with a 9am recording session.  The 'Sweet Angeline' team got together and we recorded final vocals on "Bass Drum" and a worked a bit more on another new song demo that's in production.  Stay tuned for a final version of "Bass Drum" and another brand new demo that should be going live soon as well!

After a productive morning, I checked my email and already heard from EMI Music Publishing singer-songwriter, Heather Longstaffe! (refer to yesterday)  Katie O'Halloran came through, as promised, and made the connection.  Heather is a fantastic songwriter who's already had some great placements in TV and Film.  Check her out here www.heatherlonstaffe.com and for her credits check here http://ithinkiloveit.com/2011/11/25/heather-longstaffe/

I emailed Heather back and we're already planning on getting together when I'm in Nashville in June.  Looking forward to it!  Keep you posted.

Alright, time to watch "Chopped" on Food Network then hit the sack.  Goodnight.

DAY - 179

Started the morning off right!   The "Sweet Angeline" feature was just posted on EMI Music Publisher, Katie O'Halloran's website.   Check it out www.ithinkiloveit.com  *click on the pic for full info*  Totally psyched about it!  So many industry folks , songwriters and other artists check out Katie's site...its an honor to be featured and definitely some really cool exposure as well. HUGE thanks to Katie and her site...I think I love it!  ;)

Furthermore,  in Katie's email, she also gave me info and the name of a Nashville country songwriter that was just signed to EMI Music Pub.   She thinks it'd be a great idea for us to get together and do some writing and she offered to make the connection!   Yes mam, I believe that sounds like a mighty fine idea.

As icing on the cake today is officially the last day of winter and its a beautiful 73 degrees here in South Jersey.  Cheers!

DAY - 178

This beautiful Friday brings close to another great week.  Made some great connections, got back an amazing new demo and finished a brand new song.  Speaking of finishing a brand new song...I had a super productive skype writing session with the 'Sweet Angeline' team and J Fred Knobloch.  We finished the song we started last week and already began talking about demo and pitching options.  The tune turned out to be a striking, mid-tempo country, pop crossover that is very reminiscent of Lady Antebellum. Can't wait to get it recorded so you can hear it!  

Today I got an email from a fellow songwriter who has been keeping up with the blog.  Callum Hendry, emailed me an opportunity listed on Music X Ray for Dance/Pop artist Wynter Gordon.  Wynter is looking for songs for her next album and Callum so graciously emailed to suggest that I pitch "Bass Drum".  Needless to say, I did right away.  So big thanks to Callum Hendry for the suggestion.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

Here's what the listing says:

Dance tracks for Wynter Gordon

I'm currently seeking Electronic dance tracks for a recording artist name Winter Gordon. The style should be playful eighty's disco meets 2013 dance music and the composition must have a strong melody and hook. Good Luck.

Have a great weekend!

DAY - 177

Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.

- Wayne Dyer



I was always under the impression that I had to do EVERYTHING myself. (if it was going to be done correctly)  I'm finding now, more than ever, that my outlook was wrong.  The key is to find and work with the 'right' people.  Over the past year, I've begun collaborating with some incredible people.  People who have strengths in areas that I am weaker... people that bring new thoughts and ideas to the table that I would have never thought of.   What I'm finding out is...if you can't do something yourself (in a professional and timely manner) search for someone else who can do it better and team up.  What I'm learning is, I don't HAVE to do everything myself to make it right... furthermore... when I let myself lean on others who are stronger in certain areas, the project ultimately becomes stronger!  Case in point, "Bass Drum".  I came up with the idea for the song, then collaborated with co-writer's Tyler James and Liv Devine and when it came time to produce the demo we found Jeremy Cimino (a fantastic pop producer).  Instead of trying to do the whole thing myself, I brought in other people who ultimately made the end result even better than I initially thought it could be.  I can write and produce tons of different music, but Dance/Pop is by no means my forte.  So adding Jeremy Cimino to the mix gave this project the edge and expertise it needed.  

Anyway, riding the excitement of getting the first draft of the "Bass Drum" demo.  I sent the song to Nashville Hit Songwriter's J Fred Knobloch and Jason Blume.  First off, I want to get their feedback and secondly, I figured there's an off chance that they may know of the perfect Pop act looking for songs.

I also just sent the song to Jake Livingston at Epic Records via Music X Ray.  He's turned down both "I Kinda Like It" and "Cupcakes & Wine" so I figured I'd give it a "3rd time's a charm" try.  We'll see if he bites ;)

Here's where you can check out "Bass Drum" http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/bass-drum-ruff-mix

Cheers!

DAY - 176

Just got the rough mix of the new Dance/Pop song I've been talking about!!  Producer, Jeremy Cimino, did an OUTSTANDING job with it!  He nailed the vibe of the song. Can't help wanting to dance as soon as the chorus kicks in!   I couldn't be happier...not to mention this is just the first rough mix of the song with scratch lead vocals!  We're still adding parts and tweaking as we go.  Stay tuned for the final song... but for now... play it on some good speakers or throw on some headphones and crank it up....

Take a listen to "Bass Drum":  http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/bass-drum-ruff-mix

Just emailed this to Jeremy Yohai of Downtown Music Publishing.  Told him we're shooting for a Kesha, Katy Perry, Jessie J,  pitch.  Let's see what he thinks :)

DAY - 175

Getting ready to head to the studio for a morning/afternoon recording session.    Before I do so, I wanted to get some networking done for the day.  This morning I reached out to Ryan Beuschel at ASCAP Nashville.  I met Ryan back in October when the Sweet Angeline team and I went to down to Nashville to record "20/20" with Jason Blume.  (refer to October Day 77)

I've been following up with Ryan every now and again to stay on his radar.  This morning, I decided to send him the newest song I wrote with J Fred Knobloch, "Heart On A String".   I sent him a link to the tune and lyrics, let him know our pitching intentions, and left the floor open to see if he first of all, digs it, and secondly, if he may have any ideas.  I'll keep you posted!  

DAY - 174

Today I followed up with LA/Nashville song plugger, Paul Majors, regarding "Heart On A String" and his connections at Disney. (refer to day 164)  Paul got back to me about 2 weeks ago and let me know he has a couple ideas up his sleeve regarding the song and Disney.  He told me to get back in touch with him after a few weeks... so that's exactly what I'm doing today.  Apparently, his old boss at Disney was responsible for getting "Man or a Muppet"(just won the oscar for best song in a movie) placed in the new Muppets movie!!  We'll see if he's made anyway headway for us.  Stay tuned!

DAY - 173

Finally got together to write with Paul Sottile Jr. today. (refer to Day 142+143) We had a great session!  I came prepared with a couple ideas and we actually got started on the first thing I showed him.  The song is a R&B / Soul type of tune that would be a great pitch for Jennifer Hudson, Jill Scott, Lauren Hill,  or Alicia Keys.  We're planning on finishing the tune, then working our connections to see if we can get something placed in the R&B world.  More to come on that!

Hope you have a great weekend.  Cheers!!

DAY - 172

I don't know if I mentioned, but I'm on Spring break right now.  (Woohoo... Cancun here I come!)  Yeah right, the reality is I've been observing elementary school music teachers and teaching private lessons all week.  Oh well,  today I decided to spend the day making music.  I've been in the studio all morning/afternoon producing and working on new tunes.  One is a dance/pop song in the same vein as Katy Perry, Kesha, Jessie J and the other is a pop/country tune I'm hoping to pitch to someone like Billy Currington or Blake Shelton.   Hope to have new demos for you in the next couple of weeks!  

Today I decided to send an email to Downtown Music Publisher, Jeremy Yohai.  If you've been following along, I've had a handful of back and forth emails with Jeremy over the past 172 days.  Its been about 2 months though, so I decided to drop a line.  I sent him "Heart On A String" and let him know we were planning on pitching Disney/Pixar.  I don't know if he works with Disney to any extent, but I figured if he likes the tune, it couldn't hurt. :)   Keep you posted!

DAY - 171

I am presently sitting in National Park Elementary school observing the music classes.  (requirement for my grad program at Uarts)  I have an hour break so I figured I try to get something done because from here, I go straight to the Conservatory of Musical Arts to teach private guitar/piano lessons til 9pm.  Teaching overload!!  

I managed to read through some listings on Music X Ray, found one I particularly liked and submitted to it.  I sent in "Remember The Summer Nights" (female version) "Remember The Summer Nights" 

to a young music publishing company called Living Wills Music.  These guys are not only young and hungry to get cuts for their writers, but they also have very good taste and know exactly what they're looking for and what the market is looking for.  We'll see if they dig this one.  Here's how the listing read...

Looking for Female Country Songs in the style of Deanna Carter, Sara Evans and The Dixie Chicks

We are looking for some top-notch, commercial female country tunes to add to the Living Wills Music catalog being pitched on Music Row. Publishing must be available.

What we DO WANT TO HEAR: Love songs, story songs, real-life songs and "this is who I am" songs. We want creative ideas/angles and also songs that are "out of the box" while still being commercial. All tempos (but if you're submitting a ballad, know that its got to be amazing!).

What we DON'T WANT TO HEAR: Songs with cliches and ideas that have been written a million times. (We want songs with new concepts). Songs that don't have publishing available.

DAY - 170

Today got started early with a 9am writing session. Tyler James, Liv Devine and I got together via Skype with J Fred Knobloch.   (Ahhh the wonders of modern technology)  Fred actually remarked that about 15 to 20 years ago our meeting would have probably cost a couple $1,000!  Especially when you account for plane tickets, hotels, food.  Pretty cool times we live in.  Anyway, we got pretty deep into the song idea.  Its really sounding beautiful.  Stay tuned for more on that.

Got an email back from music publisher, Shane Barrett today! (refer to Day 160)  Shane really likes "Heart On A String"!  I wrote him back letting him know that we're shooting to pitch to Disney/Pixar and we could use a hand if he knows anyone over there and/or if knows of any good pitches for the song elsewhere.  So we'll see if anything happens with that...figured it could be another iron in the fire.

Speaking of "Heart On A String"  also spoke with Fred today about it.  He got a call from Kos Weaver at Disney Music Publishing.  Kos told Fred he LOVES the song!   Of course this is not connection straight into a movie but it is definitely the first step.  Let's keep our fingers crossed.

DAY - 169

Hope you had a fantastic weekend.  My apologies for the brief nature of today's blog.  I have to run out the door and won't be back until late... so I wanted to get this one out before I go. More to come tomorrow as I'm getting together with the Sweet Angeline team and Nashville songwriter, J Fred Knobloch for a skype writing session in the morning!

Today I followed up with HD Music Now licensing rep Jody Friedman.  Just to stay in the loop, I emailed Jody some new stuff I was working on.

I applied to play at a local music festival called Appel Farms Arts and Music Festival.  www.appelfarm.org

I also submitted "20/20" to this listing on Music X Ray.com:

Seeking great country songs & acts at Show Dog / Universal Music - Nashville

We are constantly on the look out for the best new country songs and acts. If you have an outstanding song or are seeking a record deal and are an absolutely top quality acts, we would love to hear your music.

Do not submit music to us outside of Music Xray. This is where we manage online submissions.

Country music superstar, Toby Keith, founded independent label, Show Dog Nashville in 2005. In 2001, Universal Records South was originally formed as a joint venture between Universal Music Group and music industry veterans Tim DuBois and Tony Brown; in 2007 it became a wholly owned Universal company with Mark Wright serving as President of the label.

DAY - 168

Wanted to pre-post the blog today since I probably won't get a chance to later.  All of today's networking will (hopefully) occur tonight.  I mentioned earlier this week that I'm playing a show tonight with the
Liv Devine Band and we're opening for American Idol's Casey James!  Casey did not actually win Idol but, like many others, he has gone on to potentially have a successful career.  He was signed to BNA Records and 19 Entertainment and has just released his debut album and first radio single,
"Let's Don't Call It A Night".  www.caseyjamesofficial.com  He's on a radio station tour right now and Thunder 106.5 is hosting the show tonight.  That means...there will be so many people to potential meet and talk to tonight...including Casey.  It'll be a cool chance to meet before he blows up.  Wish me luck!    Have a great weekend!

If you live in Jersey and want to come check out the show here's the details...

• Friday, March 2 6:00 pm
• Liv Devine with Casey James – Thunder 106.5
• Brickhouse Bar and Grill: 979 Cedarbridge Avenue, Brick, NJ (MAP)
• Featuring Ian Brick and Michael August
• (Buy tickets)
• Share

DAY - 167

I think Cosi may be taking the place of Starbuck's for my typical Thursday afternoon break location.  Better food, better atmosphere and dare I say...better coffee?  

From my comfortable office (2-seater table at Cosi) I wrote back Katie O'Halloran from EMI Music Publishing. (refer to day 162)  Katie has a website called www.ithinkiloveit.com in which she features signed as well as up and coming bands and songwriters.  I reached out to her last week and she so graciously got back to me, letting me know she wants to feature my contemporary country project, "Sweet Angeline" on her website!  So today I spent some time answering interview questions she sent over.  I emailed her everything so I'll keep you posted when the feature goes live!

I also emailed Alex Torrez from Torrez Music Group.  Apparently, he is looking for songs to pitch to his connections for the upcoming LeAnn Rimes album.  I decided to send him, "Cupcakes & Wine" http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/cupcakes-wine

We'll see if he digs it!