DAY - 97+98

Home for the holidays.  My wife, Susan and I and our dog, Indy made the 14 hour trek back to NJ on Friday afternoon.  We were considering flying for the first time with the little guy but didn't want to chance it.  He's such a loud mouth (7 pound Yorkie) he'd probably have us kicked off the flight.  So we drove, in the rain, and arrived around 3:30am.  Honestly, sans the rain and the late arrival, the drive wasn't bad.  Leaving at 1pm put us in the D.C. area around 1am in which there was NO traffic.  If you've driven through that area you know how bad it can be!

Feels great having nothing to do but spend time with family and friends, relax and re-charge.  Besides last minute Christmas shopping, we've crashed my sister's bakery every day for a daily sugar rush. They're doing the "12 Days of Christmas Cupcakes"... a crazy new flavor every day!    www.sweettbakes.com

Down to business...

This weekend I booked a new writer's night.  Michael Scott, a songwriter from Franklin, TN reached out and asked me to join his writer's round at the locally famous Mercantile Deli in downtown Franklin. Check it out HERE.  I met Michael at the Bluebird Cafe writer's night on December 1st.  Like I was saying earlier, writer's nights are some of the best places to do quality networking.  Show up on time and prepared, play your heart out, and stick around to chat with people/watch the other writers perform.  You never know who you'll meet and who's gonna dig what you're doing.

Today, I reached out hit songwriter, Brent Baxter after reading a fantastic post on his blog (check it out) regarding being busy vs. productive.  The concept of the post is the very reason my blogging adventure  began.

It's almost 1:30pm... time to do some shopping before it gets crazy out there.  Not to mention, today is Day -11 of the 12 Days Of Christmas Cupcakes at Sweet T's ;)

DAY - 95+96

GRADUATED!  Wooo hooo...finally!  I have officially completed my 3 year journey back to music school and I'm proudly standing in the metaphoric light at the end of the tunnel.  It's bright, it's warm and it feels so good.  I thought going back to school would be a difficult...it was.  However, absolutely worth it for me.  Following in the footsteps of a family of professional musicians, I feel ready as ever to make my mark on the musical world.  Wish me luck :)

Yesterday, I reached out to hit songwriter and head of the songwriting department of Belmont University, James Elliott.  As both a hit songwriter and a distinguished professor I felt compelled to reach out to James and introduce myself.

Today, I emailed mega Nashville producer, Dan Huff in regards to the Band Perry's new project.  I pitched a song that is totally out-of-the-box.  The song is one I wrote with Grammy winning songwriter, Scot Sax.  The demo we did is totally retro rock/pop.  However, at the Steve Bloch Speedpitch session last week, one of the publishers loved it and said it could make a totally fresh country/pop song for a female singer w/ attitude.  I decided to give it a whirl.  You can check out the song HERE

Cheers!

DAY - 94+95

Sorry for the delay!   If I'm off this week I apologize.  Last week of student teaching, 2 major tests for certification, a meeting a Belmont University and packing to head back to NJ for the holidays.  It's a bit nutty but I'm keeping up.  I'll keep this short and sweet.

Yesterday, I reached out to song-plugger, and publisher Shane Barrett thanking him for hooking me up with one of his writers, Tammy Jacobs.  Tammy and I wrote a really cool tune.  Actually, you can check it out if you want...it's just a little acoustic work tape, but you'll get the idea... http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/start-a-little-life-with-you-wt 

Today I reached out to hugely successful music supervisor, Alexandra Petsavas.  You can check out her stuff at www.chopshoprecords.com.  She is one of the top music supervisors in the biz.  I reached out to Alexandra to send her "Heart On A String".  My co-writer, J Fred Knobloch has been sending it around to the who's who of Nashville songwriters and producers and he's been getting rave reviews.  Come on Bublé!  I'll even give you some of the publishing ;)  Lol...wishful thinking. 

DAY - 93

Happy Happy Friday!  Glad the weekend is here although it's not going to be that relaxing.  I have to take two major tests (Praxis Exams for teaching certification) next week so this weekend my head is going to be buried in the books.  I'll be glad when it's over...that's if I pass...

Anyway, there's a new Country/Pop artist by the name of Leah Turner.  She has a single out called "Take the Keys" and she's signed with Sony Music in Nashville.  I've been hearing the song everyday on the Sirius radio station "The Highway".  Very cool voice and a fresh sound...not to mention a great song.  I just pitched a couple songs to her debut project.  We shall see...

Have a great weekend!

DAY - 92

The winter concert is tonight for my school and I'm conducting 3 songs.  First time I've ever conducted a group in concert.  A little nerve racking.  I have to head back to school soon so I'll make this quick...

Today I pitched producer, Michael Knox 2 songs for Jason Aldean's new project.  Obviously this is a long shot.  Jason is probably getting pitched thousands of songs.  But hey, here's hoping mine goes to the top of the pile ;)

Cheers!

DAY - 91

Today I pitched "Here We Go Again" to producer, Luke Wooten in consideration for Dustin Lynch's new project.  On Monday night,  4 out of the 6 industry pros took a copy of that song. (Refer to yesterday) I know Dustin is looking for something on the New Country side of things and I figured it'd be a good pitch.  I haven't heard anything from the FGL camp yet so I'll keep the pitches flowing.  Fingers crossed, prayers being said.

Just got an email from J Fred Knobloch with a brand new mix and master of "Heart On A String".  He did such a great job on it.  Definitely kicked it up a few notches.  This song still remains one of my absolute favorite songs I've been a part of writing.  Fun fact: My father wrote and recorded the horn parts and my mother played tenor sax on it. :)

DAY - 89+90

Apologies for the delay....

Last night I participated in Steve Bloch's Speed Pitch.  Personally, I thought it was great!  I meet with over 6 music industry pros in less than 2 hours.  From publishers, to managers, to an American Idol finalist, all of whom were looking for music.  I had a fantastic night with amazing response!  5 out of the 6 people I met with wanted copies of one or more of the songs I played for them and 3 of which gave me their personal contact info.  Couldn't have gone better! :)  If you've got a decent size catalog of well-recorded music I highly recommend this event.  You can even do it via Skype.  However, the vibe I got was that some of the pros actually liked meeting in person.  I for one liked meeting in person as well.  You have a better shot of making an actual connection.  Nothing beats a hand shake.  I also met a really cool songwriter who was also attending the session.  All in all, a great night.

Today I reached out to the 3 people that gave me their contact info.  Unfortunately, I'm technically not supposed to divulge the names...but... what I can say is that one was the American Idol finalist, and the other 2 were song pluggers for publishers.  I'm sure if I develop a relationship with any of these people in the future I'll be able to throw out some names.  ;)

So that's the story! 

DAY - 88

I had a half day of teaching today due to inclement weather!  That's 3 extra hours of precious time to use however I wanted to.  I have to say it was a productive 3 hours.  Not only did I work on my professional resume, I cranked out a decent sounding work tape for the song I wrote with AWMG writer, Tammy Jacobs and I contacted Steve Bloch to sign up for his "Speed Pitch" this coming Monday night.

After finishing the work tape I sent it over to Tammy for some final tweaks after which we'll discuss demo options.  I'm pumped... it's a really fun tune.  Looking forward to posting in the near future.

And yes,  I decided to partake in one of Steve Bloch's "Speed Pitches".  I discussed the Speed Pitches about a month ago but couldn't find which day to refer to.  Anyway, if you're interested...  www.steveblochmusic.com 

I had a great phone convo with Steve today and I'm really excited about the event on Monday.  There's going to be some very cool industry pros attending this week!

I'll tell you all about it on Monday night afterwards or on Tuesday.

Have a great weekend!

DAY - 87

Heard back from Bluebird Cafe today with a date for March!   I also from Terry Seay at All About Z Music with a writer's night date for February.  (refer to yesterday)

Today I reached out to hit songwriter, producer, remixer, DJ, and A&R rep for Major Bob music, Jesse Frasure aka Telemitry.  (Can you say over achiever? Geez...save some work for the rest of us :) )

I decided I'd contact Jesse to introduce myself.  I really admire his writing and production and his ability to be so versatile.   I let him know a little bit about myself, and that I'd love to meet this month to play him some music.  Of course this is a long-stretch.  He is undoubtedly a busy man so for him to want to meet with an unknown is highly unlikely.  But like I said before, that's what this blog is about.

Cheers!

DAY - 86

Today I reached out to Bluebird Cafe as well as some other booking contacts to book myself on some more writer's nights.

One of the biggest advantages about living in Nashville is being able to get involved in writer's nights.  These events are some of the best places for solid networking... both business contacts and future co-writes.  Not to mention, they're a lot of fun!  I'm also finding that some songwriters even host their own writer's nights at some great venues around town.

After speaking with someone at Bluebird today I found out that after you play at least 4 writer's nights they'll give you your own night (if they think you can handle it)  

3 more to go 'til you see "Michael August & Friends" on the calendar!  ;)

Cheers!

DAY - 85

Today I reached out to mega producer, Buddy Cannon.  Mr. Cannon is in the midst of producing Kenny Chesney's latest project and is looking for songs.

I pitched 2 relatively new songs for the project.

I also just posted so you can check them out as well...

Summertime Looks Good On You:  is brand new song I wrote with Nashville hit songwriter, J Fred Knobloch.  Fred and I finished up the demo about a month ago and this is the first pitch.  It's a total country/soul type throw back tune with some very cool and modern loops/production. Fred is singing the vox on this demo and we're both singing the backgrounds.

Rambler's Lament: is a song I wrote with Eric Schwank.  This is actually a live recording of Eric performing the song in my studio back in NJ.  One acoustic guitar, one voice, one take.   It was only supposed to be a work tape, but his performance was so heartfelt and compelling I decided to use it as-is.  

Hope you enjoy!

DAY - 84

I hope you had a fantastic holiday weekend.  I relaxed, ate, drank, and spent, a little too much...but I guess that's what Thanksgiving is all about...right?  Time to get back to the gym and back to work!

I played the world famous Bluebird Cafe last night.  It was a blast!  I got there around 7:30pm and the line at the door was already down the street. It's unbelievable what the show, "Nashville" has done for the Bluebird.  It's always been a famous spot since Garth Brooks set foot on stage in 1987 and was discovered that night.  Now, with the popularity of the TV show, nightly attendance at The Bluebird is of the charts!  Last night was no different.  It was fantastic playing to packed house of folks from all over the world.  I'm not kidding...USA, Canada, Holland, Ireland, and Australia were all in the house last night!!  Crazy.

Today I had a short Skype writing session with long-time friend, bandmate and co-writer, Eric Schwank.  Eric had a great idea that we started laying the groundwork to this afternoon.  It has the makings of a really strong country rock ballad.  Now all we have to do is NOT screw it up.  Lol...easier said than done.

Before the session today I reached out to the Creative Director of Magic Mustang publishing, Juli Newton-Griffith.  I've been hearing some great things about Magic Mustang and their writers. (Jason Aldean and Thompson Square happen to be Magic Mustang writers) I tried reaching out to the other creative director Keithan Melton in the summer but never heard back so I figured I'd try to make another contact.  We shall see.

More to come this week. Stay tuned!

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.