DAY - 83

Turkey day is almost here and I can already taste it. At the moment, my lovely wife, Susan is already prepping for tomorrow's festivities!  We decided instead of flying back to NJ we would spend Thanksgiving in Nashville, just the two of us.  At first, we thought we'd go to one of our favorite restaurant spots for dinner, but then Sue had the wild idea that we should go all-out and cook ourselves a full T-day feast...a practice run, if you will, for future Thanksgivings. :)  So, the fridge is stocked and the cabinets are overflowing with the usual suspects and even some interesting new recipe items.  Tomorrow will be a day of cooking, drinking, relaxing, and of course EATING!

Today I had a morning writing session with the very talented, Tammy Jacobs.  The session went fantastic and we finished up the song we had started a few weeks ago. (refer to Day - 72)  It's an upbeat, fun, love song with a conversational vibe and super catchy chorus.  Looking forward to demoing.

After the session, I reached out to Donald Jenkins. (refer to Day - 49)  Donald and I had talked about getting together for coffee so I figured I'd reach out and set it up.  I also dropped another line to songwriter, Rich Karg. (refer to Day - 66)

 Along with the music industry, I will be out of commission until Monday.

Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Cheers!

DAY - 83

Thanksgiving break is officially here!  5 days off to recharge, relax, catch up, and enjoy the holiday.  As soon as I got home my head hit the pillow and I was out like a light for 2 hours.  I felt like I was getting sick, but I think it's just the fact that I've been in 'go' mode since September 1st.  I've been performing a juggling act for 3 months and I feel my concentration getting weary. (As you can probably tell looking over the last week or so of posts) This break came at a perfect time.  Can't wait to do nothing but cook food and make music.

Following yesterday's pitch to Joey Moi (Florida-Georgia Line's Producer) I made the same pitch to their manager, Seth England at Big Loud Shirt.  I figured I'd tackle both ends of the spectrum with this pitch in hopes of getting a listen.  I can only imagine how much material they're receiving and sifting through at the moment.  Fingers crossed, prayers being said.

Cheers!

DAY - 82

It's snowing in Nashville.  Fireplace + movie + couch = perfect Monday night.

Today I pitched Joey Moi a song for Florida-Georgia Line's next project.  Joey Moi is producing the record and they are looking for songs.

I pitched, "Here We Go Again".  It's an upbeat, fun, summer anthem and I thought it'd be perfect for FGL's second album.

Kirk Penney, my co-writer, recorded what I like to call a super work tape. (A very detailed and produced recording that's not a high polished demo) We've been getting rave reviews from a few publishers who told us to pitch it as is.  So we are!  Fingers crossed.  

You can check out the song link above.  Hope you enjoy.

Cheers!

DAY - 81

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”
– Steve Jobs

Happy Friday!  It's a rainy one here in Nash-vegas.  Another week flew by.  I can't believe I'll be done my grad program student teaching requirements in less than a month, thus fully completing the program!   Talk about another week flying by...the past few years have flown by.

Today I reached out to senior creative director at ASCAP Nashville,  LeAnn Phelan.  I had reached out to LeAnn back in August regarding getting together for a meeting to chat about being new to town, play her some music and basically,  get on the radar.  LeAnn offered to meet with me on a date that I was back in Philly so she told told me to contact her towards the end of November to re-schedule.

I'm hoping we can meet either next week or the following.  That's all for today.  I'm going to take the free afternoon and work on some new music.

Hope you have a great weekend.  Cheers!

DAY - 78 + 79 +80

Wow... talk about falling behind.   Time to play catch up...

1) I heard back from mega hit producer Scott Hendricks. (refer to Day 70)  Not the best of news.  He said, he was pretty much too busy to meet.  A little bummed, but obviously I knew it was a long shot.  I'm sure he's swamped and to take precious time to meet with an up-and-comer with no referral is probably not top priority on his to-do list. Can't fault me for trying ;)  However, he did offer a few suggestions and wrote me back a sincere email.  I wrote back thanking him for his time and asked for permission to send songs for future projects.  Hopefully our paths cross in the future.

2) Yesterday, I wrote with Nashville singer-songwriter, Megan Redmond.  Fantastic session.  Out of the 3 times we've written together, we came out with 3 really strong songs.  That's a pretty damn good batting average.  We're just now looking into demo options.  Can't wait for you to hear.  

3) This afternoon has been a whirlwind of emails and follow-ups.  Securing demo singers, booking sessions, song editing, following up with co-writers, scheduling new co-writes, and following up with the jingle stuff.    

It's been a less than ground-breaking couple of days.  Great for new music, not so much for business.  But, that's how it goes sometimes.  Onward and upward!

DAY - 77

Trying my best not to fall behind.  It's been a hectic start to the week.  This blog post will cover yesterday Monday, November 18th.

I had a great weekend/monday of writing and recording.  I worked with two great songwriters one of whom has been a co-writer of mine for over a year and the other was a first time write.  Both were great sessions!  On Sunday I wrote with new friend and co-writer, Brad Oliver.  Brad is fantastic vocalist and producer, best known for his rock stylings with Rose For Apollo.  Besides having an artist career, Brad is an all around great writer.  Not to mention, an awesome guy.  We had a productive first session and looking forward to working a lot more in the future.

Yesterday's session was with Canadian/Nashville songwriter, Kirk Penney.  As usual, Kirk and I had a killer session in which we finished the majority of a new song.  Btw, apologies for not posting any new demos lately...more to come soon.

To back track even more, Saturday I had the very talented Megan Redmond come to my studio to lay down vocals for a "female version" of the jingles I've been working on.  Speaking of which, tonight I need to finish those up because the company is making the pitch on Monday.  Fingers crossed they dig my work.

Some bad news... I heard back from producer, Carson Chamberlain (refer to day 74)  regarding the songs I pitched for Easton Corbin's latest project.  He thanked me for sending the songs but said he was going to pass.  Oh well,  at least he got back to me. lol!  Back on the horse.

Speaking of back on the horse.  Today I pitched Josh Turner.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Alright I have to skype in for my seminar class in  6 minutes.  More to come tomorrow.  I need t make up for one day worth of networking still!

DAY - 76

TGIF...and this time I really mean it.  This has been a stressful week.  Student teaching observations, lesson plans, a couple jingles, and a few writing sessions.  My head is fried.  A strong cocktail is in order...better make that a few.

Tonight Sue and I are meeting up with some friends at this crazy dive bar in Nashville called Santa's Pub.  It's a smoked-filled, wood-paneled, triple-wide trailer serving up the coldest beer in town straight from the kitchen. AND...it's literally owned by a guy that looks like Santa...people actually call him, Santa. Lol!  Check it out...  www.santaspub.com  Not only was it voted the nation's best dive bar by Maxim magazine but it's a rockin' good time. (if you can stand the second-hand smoke) The best karaoke spot I've seen yet.  And apparently, you never know who is gonna pop in unannounced.

Down to business...
Today I followed up with Celia Froehlig from Black River Entertainment.  Basically just to touch base, send some new material and see about potential co-write opportunities.  Besides working on my writing schedule for next week, that's all I had time for today.

Hope you have a great weekend.  Cheers!

DAY - 75

Today I reached out to some Film and TV connects including two companies that I already have songs licensed with.  (Audiosocket, Crucial Music)  I'm beginning to put out some feeders and stir up some potential TV & Film opportunities for my music.  After meeting with publishing vet, Abbe Nameche and having her enthusiastically suggest doing that for my pop material I've been slowly but surely gathering new contacts and putting feelers out.  I have to be honest, I've been out of the TV & Film game for a few years so I have to get my feet wet again.  NOW is as good of a time as ever!  I also reached out to some individuals that do Film & TV work such as NYC producer, Jeremy Cimino. (Jeremy produced both "Insomnia" and "Bass Drum" in my pop catalog)

Onward and Upward.

DAY - 74

Today I pitched 2 songs to country singer, Easton Corbin's next project. I sought out contact info for the producer of the project, Carson Chamberlain, got his email and made the pitch about 5 minutes ago.  

I pitched "Saying Yes" and "Skinny Dippin'".   You can check these songs out here... www.mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com

Easton had a cheeky summer smash called "All Over the Road".  After checking out more of his material,  I figured he'd appreciate the tongue-in-cheek humor of these two songs.  We shall see.

I heard back from Dana Parish last night. (refer to yesterday)  Still so pumped for her!!  My favorite part of that article is the story about how she asked a music exec if he would have pitched the song to Celine and the music exec admitted that he would of had her change the word "girl" in the title.  She said, if she left it in his hands the song would have been dead in the water.  Instead, she took it into her own hands and now she has not only 1 but 2 Celine Dion cuts!!  Totally inspirational.

Looking forward to busy weekend of music making.  Jingle producing on Saturday morning and writing with a new co-writer (Brad Oliver) on Sunday morning.   Good vibes.

DAY - 72+73

Apologies for the delay on yesterday's post.  It was nonstop day.

DAY - 72
After student teaching, I hopped in the car and headed straight to a writing session.  Yesterday afternoon/evening I had my first session with Tammy Jacobs.  Tammy is a published staff writer with  AWMG entertainment.  She is predominantly a lyricist and a very talented one, as I found out in our session.  I've never worked with a lyricist before but I have to say, it was a lot of fun!  For once, I could take my mind off the lyric and concentrate the majority of my efforts on music and melody.  Talk about team work.  Not to mention, we came into the session on the same page idea-wise.  After chatting a bit, Tammy brought up the fact that I just got married and thought it'd be cool to write something along those lines.  So happens... I had just the right hook stored away.  Love when it's that easy.  Needless to say, the session went great and we finished the majority of a new tune.  Looking forward to finishing it up at our next session.

After writing with Tammy, I hopped back in the car, picked up Sue and we headed downtown to check out Whiskey Jam at Winners Bar.  It was packed!!  Whiskey Jam is a high energy writer's night in which both artists and writers perform solo or even with a band.  Sue and I met up with some friends  and had a great time checking out the scene.  Hoping to get a spot on the Whiskey Jam line up soon!

DAY - 73
Today I reached out to the super talented, Dana Parish.  Dana is a songwriter and an artist doing some amazing things. What do I mean by amazing things?  How 'bout 2 songs on the latest Celine Dion record!  Just released on November 5th.   We actually share a couple pretty cool connections.  1) We both studied under the same vocal coach, the incredible, Paul Adkins.  2) We both had our first song recorded by the same person...my father, Mr. Bud Walton. :)  I'm not kidding...check out the article HERE

Pretty cool.  Anyway, I sent Dana an email congratulating her and her husband for all the recent success.  I also let her know that if they we're planning on coming to Nashville...please let me know!

DAY - 71

Happy Friday!   I'm going to keep this short and sweet.  My mother-in-law is in town and we're are taking her out to dinner!

Today I reached out to NSAI.  (Nashville Songwriter's Association International) I've known about the company for a long time and I've heard so many amazing personal stories about how NSAI has helped songwriters and artists reach their goals.  Now that I'm officially in town, it's time to join.  However, before I do, I'd like to meet with them face-to-face, shake hands, get a tour of the building, etc.  In other words, attempt to make my presence known and get on the radar.  As opposed to merely joining via the internet, I'd like to make a personal connection first.

Too many things to mention. Check it out...

 www.nashvillesongwriters.com

Cheers!

DAY - 70

Today I reached out to renowned Nashville producer and hit maker, Scott Hendricks.  Scott has had 50... that's 5-0.... #1 singles in his incredible career!  I know you're thinking..."That's a long shot!  Why would someone with 50 #1 hits give you the time of day?" And yes, you're exactly right.  It is a long shot.  But, that's what this blog is about.  Taking risks, throwing hail Mary's, and knocking on every door, no matter how big or small it may be.  Today I knocked on a very BIG door.

The way I see it, you never know who you might catch on a good day.  There's a chance that email might find itself opened and read by someone feeling extra generous or willing to extend a hand.  Point is, you can't depend solely on cold call type emails, the success rate is low.  But you never know if you don't hit "send" every once and a while.   In fact, emails like that have landed me in the offices of 3 awesome Nashville publishers so far.  

Have a great night!

DAY - 69

Are you watching the CMA's??  Fantastic this year... IMHO.  Love the two little girls Lennon & Maisy from the show Nashville.  They are going to be super-stars.  Not to mention, they have the sister connection so their harmonies are incredibly tight.  And Dave Grohl with Zac Brown Band!!? Amazing!

What a day!  Where to begin?  At lunch I got in touch with co-writer and Nashville hit songwriter J Fred Knobloch regarding pitching Kenny Chesney and Alan Jackson our newest song.  The demo is pretty much finished and sounding great! (I will post for your listening pleasure asap)  Fred got back to me letting me know he'll be making the pitches.  Fred, basically a house hold name in Nashville, has a much better shot of getting our song the attention it deserves. Fingers crossed, prayers being said.

 I've been making pitches lately and it's been cool so far, but yesterday I got an email back from Big Machine letting me know that my unsolicited material will not be considered or even given a listen.  Well, thank you very much.  No, I'm kidding...I figured that would happen eventually.   It's pretty common for labels to not accept unsolicited music.  They usually want it to be delivered by a publisher, A&R rep or someone they know.  Ok so...I just need a back door.

I got home from student teaching around 5pm and I hit the studio right away.  I was just asked to do another jingle for Stream Companies in PA!  The jingle is for a big regional car dealership with locations all over NJ and PA.  Tonight I was able to knock out one version.  Hoping they dig it!

Cheers!

DAY - 68

Super busy evening so I'm going to keep this real short...

Today during lunch I found time to pitch Rodney Adkins' producer Ted Hewitt a song for Rodney's new project.   I also pitched Rascal Flatts' A&R at Big Machine the same song.

The song is called, "All We Have is Right Now" and you can give it a listen here. 

I wrote this one with long time friend and co-writer, Eric Schwank and Eric demoed it in Nashville earlier in the year.

Couple more things on the back burner for tomorrow so stay tuned!

DAY - 67

Yeah the extra hour of sleep was great, but getting dark at 5:30pm sucks.  It's only 6:51pm cst and I swear it feels like 10pm.  Anyway, hope you had a great weekend!  Mine flew by.  The writer's round on Saturday night was awesome!  Since I was the newbie, I went first.  Not the best time slot of the night but there was a good crowd by the time my round started.  Not to toot my own horn...but... the set went over GREAT!  A bunch of audience members and other songwriters came up to me afterwards wanting to exchange info and find out where they can see me play again.  I have to admit, it felt good.  It's been a while since I've played a writer's round so this was a nice boost of confidence.  The hosts, Terry and Wanda invited me to play anytime I'm available.  Woo hoo!   Not only did the set go over well but I met some very talented writers as well.  I'm looking forward to connecting!

Today I pitched Tim McGraw "20/20".   I was able to get the info for both his A&R and his management. (Big Machine & Red Light Management) and decided to make the pitch.  Tim McGraw ISN'T someone I was initially thinking about pitching 20/20, however, his latest hits have been leaning heavy on the country/pop side. (Highway Don't Care, Felt Good On My Lips, Southern Girls)
We shall see.  As always, fingers crossed and prayers being said.  Maybe we can sneak one through :)

Cheers to new week!

DAY - 66

Apologies for the late post.  It's a beautiful Saturday and I'm sitting in my guest room/studio (refer to Day 62) working on some songs for the writer's night tonight in Franklin, TN.  Getting pumped to play...it's been a little while since I've been able to share new music in a writer's round format.

Yesterday I sent an email to Rich Karg.  Rich is a Nashville artist/songwriter signed with Green Hills Music Publishing.  He also happens to be a really nice guy.  Sue and I actually met Rich while we were  at Virago for my b-day on Monday.  Rich and I got to talking about songwriting and he told me to contact him to write sometime.  So I did last night.

That's all for now, hopefully I'll have more to report on Monday after tonight's event.  Have a great weekend.

Cheers!