DAY - 250

This post is for yesterday, Wednesday, June 27th.


A lot more demo stuff today.  More of the same kinda thing.  Just talking details and edits with both
J Fred Knobloch and Scot Sax.  Looks like things are pretty locked in with the new demos.  Won't bore you with the details :)

Today I reached out to rising country star, Lee Brice's management.  Big thanks to my friend Matt. Matt sent me the management info and suggested I try to get in touch with Mr. Brice.  Sooo... I did.  I sent over an email pitching "20/20".    Its actually ironic that Matt sent me this suggestion because I had just purchased Lee Brice's album a couple days prior and loved it!

*Its actually even more ironic because the album has a song on it called "Don't Believe Everything You Think" which is about a music man who's convincing his girlfriend to not count him out on settling down..."I might have a ring in my pocket right now..."  he says in the chorus.  This is ironic because Sue (my now fiance) and I were listening to this song as we were driving to the winery where I was going to propose that day!  Hah... I couldn't keep the smile off my face as the lyrics rolled out of the speakers. Too funny :)

Anyway, we shall see if I hear back!

Ps: If you like Country and haven't heard Lee Brice's "Woman Like You" or "Hard 2 Love" check them out...amazing stuff!

DAY - 249

Blog post is for yesterday Tuesday, June 26th


Today I did a bunch of reaching out.  Scot had a vocal session with Dana Alexandra yesterday (refer to Day 248) to work on the new song demo.  Scot called me from the session to discuss details and we got some last minute edits out of the way.  I actually sent an email to Dana yesterday just introducing myself.  Its funny because we're technically working together, but have never actually met lol... so I figured I'd reach out and say hello.  The song is moving along really well.

Next step, I emailed NYC producer/engineer, Jeremy Cimino.  Jeremy is an amazing, young, up-and-coming producer and recording engineer who is currently working at one of the hottest studios in NYC called Jungle City.  He also happens to be the guy who did the track production for our song
 "Bass Drum" and we've been getting so much positive feedback about that track!  Long story short, I figured I reach out to Jeremy about producing a track for the new song that Scot and I wrote.  Its definitely a different feel, more Pop/Rock a la Pink, Kelly, Avril ect. than Dance/Pop but nonetheless, I think Jeremy will nail it!

More to come!

DAY - 248

Just another Manic Monday.  Not really...actually today was pretty relaxing.  Helped my Dad put up a fence, did some casual wedding planning, got some sun, drank a home-made frappuccino, taught a couple guitar lessons, and...oh yeah...did some networking in between.

Today I scheduled a writing session with Scot Sax for Wednesday.  I called Scot to chat about some demoing details on the last song we wrote.  We're planning on doing the demo between Scot's studio and mine again and we're going to have a kick ass demo singer/artist named Dana Alexandra sing on it!   If you've never heard of Dana, check her out...she's seriously awesome!!  www.danaalexandra.com

Reached out to J Fred today to discuss more mixing details on the newest demos.  Fred told me that he's sending "Heart On A String" to Jay Frank... nice! (refer to Day 247)  We shall see what happens.

Also, got some cool news from Taxi.com today!!... "20/20" was just forwarded to a major Nashville Publisher.  wooo hooo!!   Here's what they said...

Great sounding demo! Very current and contemporary sounding for the mainstream Country market. The chorus is pretty infectious, and I could easily hear a chorus of this nature playing on hit Radio. FORWARD....

Good day overall and now I'm craving another home-made frapp.  Cheers!

DAY - 247

Apologies for the delay... Big day on Friday...here's what happened (Friday, June 22)


I spoke with someone over at the Larry Beaird Music Group in Nashville (the place we recorded "20/20") I happened to be perusing their website, looking into some demo singers, and I stumbled across a pretty cool event they just started hosting.  Its called "Evening With A Publisher".  Apparently, a couple times a month they hold an event in which an established publisher rep comes in and you can pitch him/her a song.  The only criteria is that you had to of recorded the song at Larry Beaird Studio and it must be a premier quality demo.  Well, it just so happens "20/20" meets that criteria so I called to try and schedule.  It turns out that you don't even have to be there in person, you can pitch a song via Skype!  This is awesome! Anyway, the guy I spoke with said he would put my name on the list for the next event.  More to come on that!

I sent J Fred Knobloch an email with a new idea for pitching "Heart On A String".  Earlier in the blog, (Day 206) Fred had mentioned that he was talking to Digsin, indie label owner, Jay Frank.  Digsin is a label that is big into TV & Film and multimedia placement.   I told Fred we should send the song to Jay Frank to see if he could help us out.  Can't hurt!   I'll follow up on this as well.

I also submitted "Start of Something Good" to a new listing on Taxi.com.  Here's what the listing said...

TOP-SHELF HOLLYWOOD MUSIC SUPERVISOR working on a HIT NETWORK TV SERIES needs EMOTIONAL SINGER-SONGWRITER, ROCK, and INDIE ROCK SONGS a la THE NATIONAL, THE VERVE, HEY ROSETTA, ANDREW BIRD, and RA RA RIOT for "BIG MOMENT" MONTAGES. I-M-P-O-R-T-A-N-T: the music supervisor needs SONGS with an ORCHESTRAL or STRING ELEMENT. Quoting the supervisor, "I love using ORCHESTRAL ROCK or CHAMBER INDIE ROCK SONGSÊ in BIG EMOTIONAL MOMENTS. The addition of STRING SECTIONS in ROCK SONGS really helps make it a special CINEMATIC moment." All tempos and moods are welcome.Ê MALE and FEMALE vocals are BOTH welcome. Your songs should sound "COOL" and CONTEMPORARY. Lyrics must be PG-rated and of a general, broad and universal type to be able to work with emotional moments the characters on screen are experiencing. Songs should be a minimum of two minutes long. Full artist-style pieces are needed, NOT jingles or library music. Instrumentation must sound NATURAL and AUTHENTIC. Broadcast Quality is needed (excellent home recordings are fine). As always, do NOT copy or rip off the referenced artist or their songs in any way, shape, or form! NO SAMPLES of other songs or artists can be incorporated into your track. The estimated fee for this license will be $2,000-3,000 total. This is DIRECT to the MUSIC SUPERVISOR, so you will KEEP 100% of the fee should you get a placement. 

DAY - 246

Finished working up a little acoustic/vocal rough demo of the new song I wrote with Heather Longstaffe.  Just emailed it to Heather today.  Since I'm back in NJ we can't get together to iron out song details so we'll have to rely on good ole Skype.   I won't be recording the full demo at my studio so the plan for this sorta thing is to get everything (lyrics, melody, rhythms, etc.) as tight and perfect as possible before sending to the producer.  I'm also thinking a demo singer will be beneficial for this song.  My voice sounds cool on it if we were pitching Pop or Country Pop, but I don't want to limit our pitches and I'm really picturing a  more "country" sounding lead vocal with character as well as a bit of a tongue and cheek performance. More like a Luke Bryan or Billy Currington, maybe even Trace Adkins type of thing.  More to come on that.

Today I submitted to another listing on Taxi.com.  I submitted "I Kinda Like It" If you haven't heard this demo yet, check it out...its a great sounding recording we had done in Philly. I wrote it with Sweet Angeline and the Liv Devine band played on the recording.  http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/i-kinda-like-it 


Here's what the listing said...

PLAYFUL, UPTEMPO COUNTRY POP SONGS in the range of Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler, Carrie Underwood, Ashton Shepard, etc., needed by the OWNER of an Indie Label looking for a BREAKOUT SINGLE for a newly signed young Country Trio. Songs submitted should have STRONG melodic sensibility, MEMORABLE lyrics, and share the current Pop Country appeal of the referenced artists. QUOTING THE SOURCE: " Lyrics must be age appropriate - no drinking, no lost love. The girls are in their early teens and the songs need to reflect that. Also, we're not looking for Gospel or Christian themes." Songs MUST have BIG melodic chorus hooks, with a cohesive structure, and youth oriented lyrics that are HAPPY and FUN. UPTEMPO preferred, NO ballads. FEMALE vocals ONLY! Harmonies welcome! Vocal and instrumental demo presentation must be top-notch!

DAY- 245

HOT HOT HOT!  Worked outside all day today and I am burnt to a crisp!

Today I sent the rough demo of a brand new song I wrote with J Fred Knobloch and the Sweet Angeline team to music publisher/song plugger, Shane Barrett.  I have a ton of confidence in this new song and I wanted to get an expert opinion from someone who's pitching Country stuff everyday.  Also,  I let Shane know I'm definitely interested in getting back to Nashville and writing with one of the songwriter's he works with.  (refer to a couple days ago)

That's all for today...  tonight will be spent recording the rough acoustic/vocal demo of the new song I wrote with Heather Longstaffe.  Stay cool!

DAY - 244

Katie O'Halloran got back to me today.  (refer to yesterday)  Said she's looking forward to hearing the new tune.  Hopefully they'll dig it over there at the EMI office!  Tomorrow I'm planning on working up a little acoustic/vocal demo of the new song to send to Heather so she can send it to her producer and he can get a full on demo recorded for us.  Can't wait for you to hear it!

Today I submitted to 2 new listings on Taxi.com.  I submitted "Love Takes Work" and "20/20".  Here's what they said...

1) COUNTRY/POP SONGS in the style of Kenny Rogers to Glen Campbell, etc., needed by a boutique Music Publisher to pitch to an ICONIC Male Country Singer. QUOTING THE SOURCE: "We're looking for timeless, introspective songs with wisdom. We're shooting for critical acclaim rather than radio. All Publishing must be available. We offer a song agreement with a two-year reversion clause." That being said, be sure your lyrics are APPEALING and FRESH, with a UNIQUE approach to your theme plenty of real DEPTH and HONESTY, and powerful IMAGERY and EMOTION. Give this great artist something he hasn't heard before! Tempo and mood may vary. MALE VOCALS ONLY! Vocal and instrumental demo presentation must be top-notch!




2) CONTEMPORARY COUNTRY SONGS with MALE VOCALS in the style of Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, etc., needed by a boutique Music Publisher that is pitching to a HUGE male artist. Your submissions MUST be WELL-STRUCTURED, with CLEAR and POSITIVE lyric imagery, and tons of RADIO POTENTIAL! Your lyric themes must be HEARTFELT and G-RATED - leave your drinking and cheating songs on the self for this one! Be sure your songs have strong CHORUS HOOKS and provide a perfect PAY-OFF. He's a good songwriter, so you'll need to give him something very special, something he hasn't heard before or thought of himself! MALE VOCALS ONLY! 

DAY - 243

Home sweet home NJ.  Feels good to be home, but to be honest I already miss Nashville.  The people, the music, the food, everything about that town is so alive.  I know its the right place for Sue and I to eventually start our new lives together.  Can't wait to get back, and better yet, I can't wait to officially make the move.  I made some incredible connections and even more incredible memories this trip :)

Today I reached out to EMI Music publisher, Katie O'Halloran.  I emailed Katie to let her know that the writing session with songwriter, Heather Longstaffe went really well.  Like I said earlier, we knocked out a song start to finish in 3 hours.  I touched base with Katie also to thank her for the introduction.  I want to make sure she knows she can refer me to co-write anytime and I'll come prepared with my A-game.

Definitely pumped and looking forward to following up the trip with a strong week!

DAY - 241+242

This post will cover yesterday, Thursday June, 14 and today Friday, June 15.

Yesterday was a great day.  A couple small successes came my way.  I got an email from Nashville publisher/songplugger Shane Barrett.  He said he wants to hook me up to co-write with some of the hit writers he works with!!   AMAZING little email.  That means by setting me up with some of his writers, he's giving me the opportunity to write a song that he'll start pitching.  Very exciting and a little nerve racking. Gotta nail this one.  Emailed him back today thanking him for the opportunity and looking forward to getting it together next time I'm in town.  More to come on that!

Last night, Sue, Mark (Sue's brother) and I went out for drinks with an up and coming Nashville producer/engineer named Tommy Carnes and his wife Lauren.  Amazing people and a fantastic night filled with some of the best cocktails I ever had!  (We went to a funky, little, speakeasy, called Holland House where the bartender was a true star.  Everything he served was top of the top shelf, fresh ingredients, and interesting combinations that for a ridiculously memorable cocktail) Tommy is an awesome engineer/producer and we talked trying to work together for the greater good.  Not to mention, just great people to have met before Sue and I officially make the move down here.

Today I just got a message back from Taxi.com.  They're forwarding "Bass Drum" to the music supervisor of a Major TV Network for consideration on a TV show!  Great news... now we sit and wait to hear back lol :)  

-I sent an email to EMI songwriter, Heather Longstaffe to follow up. Looking forward to demoing our new song and writing again.

-Right now we're getting ready to have drinks with J Fred Knobloch.

-Another random blind date (so to speak) tonight!  Sue, Mark and I are meeting a Canadian songwriter named Kirk Penney and his wife for dinner and drinks.  We randomly met Kirk yesterday while looking at a new condo complex in the city.  We got to talking and it turns out he's looking to move to Nashville as well.  We exchanged info and he emailed me about getting together...so we are!

DAY - 240

Apologies for the delay...just got myself to some free wi-fi.  Here's what happened yesterday (Wednesday, June 13th)

Oh wait... hold up a second... I forgot to mention, Tuesday night I got engaged!!!!  Yes its true, Tuesday I proposed to Susan, my beautiful girlfriend of 4 years, at Arrington Vineyards winery in TN.  We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.  Sun was shining, cool breeze blowing, sitting on a tree swing on top of a mountain winery. (wow, maybe I should write a song)  Well, if anyone is wondering she said YES!  woo hooo!  After 4 years of calling her my 'girlfriend'  you wouldn't believe how hard it is to get used to saying 'fiance' lol!  But nonetheless, it feels amazing to finally say it :)

Back to Nashville.  RoLLeRcoAsTeR ride of a day yesterday!  I had a 10am meeting with ASCAP rep, Ryan Beuschel, that didn't go as well as planned.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't horrible.  He said and I quote, "Your songs are really good, but some of them are not at the lyrical level of Nashville hit songs. Your images need to be fresher and the way you say things needs to be even more unique."  So, like I said earlier, Ryan is a tough critic!  That being said, I think he's genuinely looking out for my best interest for pursuing a career in song writing.  Again that being said,  the sting of rejection still sucks...a lot.

I said roller coaster ride because later that day I met with EMI songwriter, Heather Longstaffe and we wrote a killer song, start to finish, in about 3 hours!! Heather is SUPER-TALENTED and a really easy to write with. check her out here www.heatherlongstaffe.com  I brought an idea to the table that I thought she would dig and she did.  We dug into it and wrote a Billy Currington, Luke Bryan type song that's totally sexy and a lot of fun.  Guaranteed to make you smile...or blush.  We're planning on doing a demo asap.  I have contact with Luke Bryan's management now, so I can make some pitches.  Heather has a Pub deal so if her publisher digs the song, they'll be making pitches on it as well!  Sooo... we will see!

Later that night, I went to J Fred's studio for a recording/mixing session.  Great night!  I'll be able to post those new song demos soon.

Alright that's it for yesterday...let's take a bite out of today.  Cheers!

DAY - 239

Bluebird Cafe was insane last night...and not in a good way! I couldn't even get in the door this time.  It was PACKED to capacity inside and a line out the door 50 strong.  Figures... because it was the last day of CMA week, there was 3 publisher reps in attendance, and they were giving away a guitar for the best song played.  Oh well, at least I got a ticket that says I'm guaranteed to play next time.

Woke up early this morning and got right to work.  Big day ahead so I wanted to get some strong networking done early.  To kick off the day I emailed both Darius Rucker's and Luke Bryan's management... pitching "Love Takes Work".  Darius is with McGhee management in LA and Luke Bryan is with Redlight management, Nashville.  I have both they're email addresses from when we pitched "20/20".  This time, its coming from an unpublished songwriter "unsolicited" but I kept the emails extremely brief and vague so they might overlook that and check out the song.  We shall see.

That's all for now.  Hope you have a great day!

DAY - 238

Just arrived in good ole Nash-vegas last night around 7pm!  Just a quick side-note for those who care... The wedding in Asheville was absolutely gorgeous!  Dare I say, perfect?  Well, I couldn't imagine a more perfect wedding.  Not to mention, ALL the extravagant decorations we're hand-made by the bride! Thought this was worth taking a brief departure from music to share :)   Here's some pictures but they really don't even do it justice...

Alright, back to Nashville.  Like I said, we arrived last night around 7pm, immediately got changed and headed straight out to the famous Bluebird Cafe.  It was writer's night at the Bluebird featuring legendary Nashville songwriter, Tony Arata. (happens to be good friends with J Fred Knobloch.. small world in deed)  Tony, besides being an inspiring performer himself,  has had countless cuts by various artists including Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Reba, Patty Loveless, ect, ect...but his biggest cut to date is a little song called "The Dance" by Garth Brooks!!  You can check out his site here www.tonyarata.com
Anyway, after the show I waited around a bit until some people cleared out and I decided to introduce myself to Tony.  I shook his hand, told him my name, and let him know I'm a friend and co-writer of Fred Knobloch.  To my surprise, he knew exactly who I was!!!  He went on to say that Fred showed him "Heart On A String" about a month ago, and he "loved it"!  Said it was a fantastic song and really refreshing.  He was legitimately excited about it and said it was a pleasure to meet me...me?  Its a pleasure to meet you!  Hah, what a way to start the trip.  I love this town.

Sooo today I sent Tony a brief email to follow up.  Thanked him for the great show and let him know I'd love to get together next time I'm in town.  Really hoping to keep in touch and make this connection grow.

Another piece of good news.  I heard back from Downtown Music Publisher, Jeremy Yohai today. (refer to day 237)  He really liked "Love Takes Work"!  To be specific he said its a really solid song and I should definitely pitch it while I'm in Nashville.  Definitely pumped he digs the song.  Just gives me an extra bit of confidence while making pitches.

I'm headed to Bluebird again tonight to try and secure a spot in their open mic.  That's it for today.  Stay tuned!

DAY - 236 + 237

Apologies for the delay.  Spent all day driving in the car yesterday to Asheville, NC.  (My girlfriend Sue and I are in Asheville for a couple days for her best friend's wedding before shipping out to Nashville on Sunday)  This is my first time in Asheville and I can't even express how cool this town is!  Its a "crunchy" little, mini-city, nestled in the blue ridge mountains of North Carolina.  Chock full of great restaurants, microbreweries, shops and magnificent views.  Perfect setting for a beautiful wedding!  If you've never been, its definitely worth the trip.

Yesterday I was able to send some emails to Barbara Cloyd and Steve Goodie. (Both of whom, host writer's nights at the famous Bluebird Cafe in Nashville)  I reached out to Barbara and Steve to see if I can hop on any performance opportunities while I'm in town.  Kinda last minute, but we'll see.

Presently, I just dropped Sue off at a bridal brunch and found this eclectic, little, coffee shop called "World Coffee". (they're blasting some sitar-driven Indian music right now...pretty cool) Believe it or not, I had to walk around for a while to find a place with decent wi-fi!  I decided to reach out to Downtown Music Publisher, Jeremy Yohai.   I emailed Jeremy a copy of "Love Takes Work"  to get his opinion before I start presenting it in Nashville.  Also, wanted to stay on the radar.  In the back of my head, I'm thinking... if he digs it, he might know someone in Nashville I can play it for...but again, we'll see.

Hope you have a beautiful weekend!  Stay safe and enjoy. Cheers!

DAY - 235

Alright, I made all my final arrangements for Nashville today.  Spoke with everyone, confirmed, double checked and everything is good to go.  Running around like a crazy man making CD's and gathering all the necessary promo material.  Here's a picture of the promo CD :)

Last night I got an email with a REALLY cool listing from Taxi.com.  'Tis the season for Christmas songs??  I guess so, because they're looking for an original version of the Christmas classic, "Silent Night".  Well, it just so happens my good friend and co-writer, Eric Schwank and I recorded our own little rendition of Silent Night about 5 or 6 years ago.  I didn't have it on file anymore so I called Eric and sure enough he still had the mp3!  Just submitted to the listing today.  So random! Who would have thought our little recording would come in handy later down the line?  Its a sunny day in June and about 75 degrees out right now but if you'd like to take a listen you can check it out here (its at the bottom of the page) http://www.taximusic.com/hosting/home.php?artist=mynameisaugust

DAY - 233+234

New demo for your listening pleasure, I present the full band finished version of "Love Takes Work" http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/love-takes-work-2 

Today's blog covers yesterday's (Monday, June 4) and today's events....

Yesterday, I reached out to Nashville publisher/songplugger Shane Barrett.  I wanted to contact Shane and let him know I'll be in town next week.  I asked if he'd like to meet up while I'm in town so I can play him a couple new demos.

Today I sent "Love Takes Work" to Show Dog Universal's Cliff Audretch III.  I definitely think its a strong pitch for one of his artists.  We'll see what he thinks.

Looking forward to the trip!  Once again, you can stay up close and personal with this Nashville adventure by following Instagram @susieb531

DAY - 232

Got an email from J Fred to today regarding the ASCAP "New Crew Writer's Round".  Interestingly enough, it turns out that Ryan Beuschel is in charge of setting up the event.  Fred let me know that he has a call into Ryan letting him know about getting me involved in the the next round.  Such a small world!  Fred didn't know that I've been in contact with Ryan and Ryan didn't know that I've been in contact with Fred.  Hopefully this funny web connections works in my favor lol!  

Today I also submitted to 2 REALLY cool listings on Taxi.com.  I submitted "Bass Drum"and I think its a strong pitch for both!  Have a great weekend.  Cheers!

1) TOP-SHELF MUSIC LICENSING COMPANY U-R-G-E-N-T-L-Y needs CONTEMPORARY DANCE ANTHEMS for a national TV ad. They need UPBEAT, UPTEMPO and EXTREMELY CATCHY Dance songs and instrumentals. The key here is: your music has to make everyone who hears it want to leap off the couch and DANCE!   "Ideally, we're looking for songs that are CATCHY and SUPER DANCEABLE like contemporary mainstream Dance Pop but have some EDGE, COOLNESS and STREET CRED like the current underground." They're looking for POSITIVE and UPLIFTING melodies NOT dark or angry sounds. As always, strong performances, stunning melodies, solid song structure and well-written lyrics are essential. Speaking of lyrics, please avoid songs with expletives or references to specific names or brands. MALE or FEMALE VOCALS as well as INSTRUMENTALS are welcome. If you're submitting a song with lyrics, please be sure to include the lyrics. NO SAMPLES of other songs or artists can be incorporated into your track. As always, do NOT copy or rip off the referenced artists or songs in any way, shape, or form! The ESTIMATED fee for this license is $15,000-$30,000.


2) The MUSIC SUPERVISOR for a TOP CABLE TV NETWORK is looking for UPBEAT and FUN POP songs and instrumentals a la: BRITNEY SPEARS "Til The World Ends"  NELLY FURTADO "Big Hoops (BIGGER THE BETTER)" BNATASHA BEDINGFIELD "Pocketful Of Sunshine" JILL SCOTT "Golden" . As always, do not copy or rip off the referenced artists or songs in any way, shape or form. If chosen, your song may be used in a REALITY TV SHOW featuring WOMEN in their 30's and 40's. Songs that that are too young, soft, light or too "girlie-sounding" will NOT be sophisticated enough for women of that age. Some of the women on this show find themselves newly single, back out on the dating scene, and embracing a new, exciting chapter of their lives. If you're submitting a song, LYRICS about GETTING STRONGER, TAKING CHANCES, BEING POSITIVE AND PROGRESSIVE, FACING LIFE'S CHALLENGES, TAKING CONTROL, and HAVING FUN are preferred.Ê The music supervisor wants SLEEK and SOPHISTICATED POP and R&B with a FLIRTY and PLAYFUL attitude. Your song or instrumental should have DRIVING BEATS and some ELECTRONIC elements. The supervisor is NOT looking for rock or anything too heavy, distorted or outside the box. No expletives please. ENERGETIC and POSITIVE POP with some SASS and SOPHISTICATION will work best here.Ê FULL SONGS with FEMALE VOCALS and/or INSTRUMENTALS will be considered.