DAY - 145

Last day of January, the sun was shining, reaching highs above 60 degrees here in good ole New Jersey. Yes, in the dead of winter.  Now, don't get me wrong, I loved the weather today.... but what the hell is going on outside?  Better yet, should I be worried?  Not complaining, just saying.... ;)

Nonetheless, great day for rock n' roll!  Up bright and early for a writing session with the 'Sweet Angeline' team (Tyler James & Liv Devine) Very productive...we actually finished one full song and got a good head start on another.   The first song, I mentioned last Tuesday, is the one I think would be a great pitch for Billy Currington.  Now that the first draft is done, its time to get some feedback, analyze, possibly do some re-writes, and finally... demo it.  Yes, its sometimes a long, tedious process from start to finish, but I think if you give it the right amount of TLC, you'll lower your chances of having those "shoulda done this, coulda done that" moments.

Besides being a good writing day, it was also a good day for networking.  I spoke with Jason Blume and just got word that our song "20/20" is being pitched to Blake Shelton!!  Blake Shelton is on top of the world right now, coming off the success of 2 HUGE singles as well as his TV appearances on The Voice. It would be a great success to land a song on his next record, to say the least.  Overall, he's been going more commercial these days so I think its a strong pitch.  Obviously, if he loves it, he loves it... If he doesn't, he doesn't.  It is what it is...   I'm just excited that its on the table. (...and I hope he eats it up!)

Cheers!

PS:  Stayed tuned... I'll be posting brand new song demos tomorrow.... you'll be the first to hear them!!  

DAY - 144

Super pressed for time today!  Just managed to duck into the Starbucks here on Broad Street to try and get some networking done.  I was combing through the listings on Music X Ray and came across something interesting.  Expressive Artists have posted a listing for a new supernatural thriller movie looking for songs... ala "The Joker" by Steve Miller Band.  I have a tune, My Name is August, recorded about 3 years ago and its a dead on pitch for that listing....so I decided to submit!  The song I submitted is called "Late Night Girls"  Check it out here... http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/late-night-girls   


Keeping my fingers crossed I land this one!  Here's what the listing said...

Seeking Songs For Supernatural Thriller 
Looking for rock tracks with vibe and tempo ala "Real Wild Child" by Iggy Pop and easy going acoustic rock songs with cool riff ala "The Joker" by Steve Miller Band for feature-length supernatural thriller. No covers. No uncleared samples. Must own/control master and sync rights.

DAY - 143

Paul Sottile got back to me yesterday, letting me know he is definitely down to get together for a writing session. (refer to yesterday) I just emailed him back today and it looks like we're going to be getting together after February 11th.  Looking forward to it!

Also, talked to J Fred Knobloch today.  Long story short, there are rumors that Toy Story 4 is in the works.  Fred and I have a song that is an ABSOLUTE perfect pitch for this movie (if it really does happen)  We're in the process of demoing right now.  Can't wait 'til its done so you can hear it!   Next stage of the game is to find the music supervisor and get it to him or her ASAP!

That's all she wrote for today.  Hope you have a great weekend!!

DAY - 142

Today I reached out to a local Philadelphia songwriter/musician named Paul Sottile Jr.  Paul is a great writer, a fantastic piano/keyboard player,  and a producer to boot.  He's doing some really cool things right now, including writing and producing for the Pop / RnB star, Mya and working with artists such as Bush, Katy Perry, Shakira and Timbaland.   http://paulsottilejr.com/

We actually met about a year ago and talked about writing together, but never did.  We happened to bump into each other again this past weekend and got to talking about writing again.  So before I let it go any further, I emailed him today about getting together sometime to collaborate.  Definitely looking forward to working with Paul in the future.

DAY - 141

I apologize for the brief nature of this blog in advance (another long day, need sleep)

Just got done a writing session with my good friend and long time co-writer, Eric Schwank aka
 'E-schwank', 'E-rock', 'E-schwizzle', the 'Schwank Man' himself. (ok I'll stop)  We had a short, but sweet session tonight.  Started working on a brand new idea that Eric had.  Brilliant idea... I think it took us more time figuring out, 'how' we are going to write it, then it will actually take to write it.  But nonetheless, I think we nailed down the direction.

Earlier today I emailed co-writer, Jason Blume just to keep in touch and say hi.  I also started checking into something called Grammy Camp. http://www.grammyintheschools.com/programs/grammy-camp
Its basically a summer music camp held in LA, NYC and Nashville for kids and teens, but its hosted by a bunch of industry pros.  I got a tip from a good friend, that it might be a smart idea to try and work the camp.  Get paid while networking for a week with top industry people.  Sounds like a good idea to me :) More to come on this...

Goodnight!  

DAY - 140

Loooonnnnnngggggg day....phew!   Its almost 11pm EST and I'm just sitting down to write.  I've been going strong since 9am, so I guess that means its been a 14 hour day.  Can anyone say caffeine?   Yeah, maybe a little too much.  Anyway, enough rambling...

Today I met my 'Sweet Angeline' www.sweetangelinemusic.com co-writers at 9am for a writing session. Let me just say, its not everyday the muse makes an appearance, but she was definitely in the room this morning!  We landed on a killer new song idea that pretty much wrote itself.  Super catchy, sing-a-long, summer fun kinda tune.  We hope to finish it up soon and then talk about demoing. (keeping my fingers crossed, but I think it'd be a great pitch for Billy Currington)

From there,  it was off to school, then teaching....finally, back home.  In the midst of the busy day, I had a chance to email a good friend of my family, Dana Parish.  If you've been following the blog, I talked about Dana a while back. (too lazy to search for the exact day right now) Dana is an amazing songwriter and performer from NYC.  She's been having so much success lately with her songwriting that its been inspiring and driving me to step it up even more!   I emailed her tonight just to say hi and congrats on everything and send her some of my new songs.  Also, let her know that if she's planning on coming to Philly anytime soon we should do a show together.  If you haven't checked her out yet...do it!  Just google Dana Parish.  

Alright... I'm about to fall asleep on my laptop, time to hit it.  Night.

DAY - 139

Today I got the first rough demo back from J Fred Knobloch (from the last week's Nashville sessions)  It sounds awesome!  Hope to get the finished recording up here for your listening pleasure soon :)  

Had to do a bunch of research today to try and gather some more contacts to reach out to.  While I'm doing my research I decided to submit to a Music X Ray listing... here's what it said...

Music Publishing Company Seeking Songs for International Distribution

We are expanding internationally and are in the process of acquiring top notch compositions for exploitation overseas.

We are looking for ALL GENRES.

DAY - 138

First off, I wanted to give a HUGE thank you to the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization of Burlington, Camden Gloucester counties.   They so graciously honored me with their first annual 'Start Something' Award for my work in writing and recording "Start of Something Good" for their new ad campaign.  This is truly my first award as a songwriter and I am so honored to receive it.  Cheers!  (If you haven't heard the full song you can listen here...http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/start-of-something-good-single If you also would like to check out the promo video they made using the song you can watch here... http://youtu.be/FBQXJ-1ibjc)

Today is going to a busy day so I got crackin' early this morning.  While doing some research on the net, I stumbled across a management company that handles representation of music producers, engineers and songwriters. They're called 'Air Management'.  I wrote to them, introducing myself and letting them know my goals as a writer.  I added some links to my music and basically just said, "if you think we might benefit from working together, I would love to speak further in detail..."    We'll see if anything comes from it!

TGIF!   OHH YEAH wait... before I forget...if you're near the Philly area tomorrow night...

My band 'My Name is August' will be playing World Cafe Live (Mainstage)  www.worldcafelive.com tomorrow night (Saturday, Jan. 21st) in support of the 3rd annual T.A.B. concert (Tinnitus Awareness Benefit)  Its going to be an incredible night of performances and professional video trailers!!!  Doors open at 7pm...we'll be playing around 10pm.  Don't miss it!!  Its going to be a blast! :) 

DAY - 137

Today I emailed Joe Rangel from EMI Music Publishing.  EMI is a major music publisher and Joe Rangel is the creative department.  I emailed Joe today to try and make a connection over at EMI.  It was 'cold call' email so its a long shot that he'll email me back but in the spirit of this blog I figured it was worth a try...

I also got a semi discouraging email back from Big Yellow Dog Publishing (refer to yesterday)  I understand that most publishers do not accept unsolicited but I figured since they were indie it might be cool... however, this is what I got back...

Dear Michael,

Thank you for your interest in Big Yellow Dog! Unfortunately, we are unable to accept unsolicited material and normally only take material or schedule meetings when the writer is recommended by a Writer Representative at ASCAP, BMI or SESAC.  We recommend referring to Nashville Songwriters Association International for more information.  NSAI can be a great resource for songwriters, so check out their website, www.nashvillesongwriters.com.

Thank you,

Jordan

DAY - 136

'Big Yellow Dog Publishing'... sounds like a funny name.  Doesn't quite have the same ring to it as 'Sony' or  ''Atlantic' or 'Universal', but this independent music publisher is doing big things.  I found out that Big Yellow Dog writers have had hits on tons of records! Including the super smash "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum.   So today I sent an email to them trying to make a connection.  Unfortunately, the only email address listed on the website is a general office email.  I asked for it to be forwarded to the correct people, but who knows if that will happen.  I figure that'll be a first step.  Now, I need to find out who's running things over there and try to connect with that person.  

Also, just received a cool email today from the Kris Allen submission I sent in yesterday on Music X Ray.  Sometimes when the rep likes what they hear they'll put the song on 'HOLD' for future listens and potential use.  This is what it says...

Dear music xray customer,

The song you submitted (20/20 - http://www.musicxray.com/xrays/379036) to Rob "PUSH" Coleman at this location ( http://www.musicxray.com/interactions/3287/submissions/new ) has been placed on hold. You will be alerted in the future when the MIP makes a final decision. 

DAY - 135

Thought I'd try to keep the momentum going and kick the week off strong...

I found out that American Idol winner, Kris Allen, is looking for songs a la John Mayer meets Train.  It hit me that "20/20" would be a great pitch for him especially if he's leaning on the more 'Train' side of the spectrum.  I submitted the track through Music X Ray.  I don't know if it will go directly to Kris Allen's management or just a middle man, so then I contacted Jason Blume and let him know. (He might have a more direct connection)  I'm not sure if Jason will think its as strong of a pitch as I do, but I figured it couldn't hurt to see what he thinks.


In the spirit of keeping the momentum going,  I decided to reach out to Michael Martin at ASCAP today as well.  Michael is both an ASCAP rep and a publisher.  I saw him at ASCAP while I was in Nashville and he remembered who I was from the last trip back in August. I took that as a good sign (although just because he remembered me doesn't mean he liked me) :)  Anyway,  I decided to go with the previous mentality and shoot him an email to try and connect.  If I can win him over and get him psyched about songs I'm writing, he would be an amazing guy to have in my corner.

Alas my break from school is officially over and I will be returning to classes today.  It was a short month to say the least, but super productive.  So, in the eloquent words of Adam Sandler , "Back to school. Back to school, to show my Dad I'm not a fool..."  

DAY - 133+134

Just got back to Jersey last night.  What a trip!  Here's the rest of what you missed...

Day 133 was spent recording with J Fred Knobloch ALL day.  We finished about 95% of the 2 new demos... now its just little tweaks and edits that Fred can do while I'm not at the studio.  The songs sound REALLY good.   I can't say too much until they're finished and copyright.. but the first one is a bouncy and fun Beatles meets Frank Sinatra tune.  Classic sounding with a modern touch.  Definitely a song we're looking to pitch to Film and TV.  The second one is contemporary country a la Zac Brown Band, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, etc.  Can't wait for you to hear them... hell, I can't wait to hear them :)

Day 134  Besides driving, I spent a good portion of the morning yesterday following up with people I ran into and met in Nashville.  Shane Barrett,  Jason Blume, Anna Maki, etc (refer to past couple days)  That's about all I had time for...

Stay tuned for another blog later today as I will start networking right now... :)

DAY 131+132

My apologies for the delay over the past 2 days.  Call me cheap, but I refuse to pay $15 extra a night for Wi-Fi at the hotel.  So its back to good ole Starbucks. :)  Anyway the past 2 days have been great!  This blog will cover both Wednesday, DAY - 131 and Thursday, DAY - 132. 


DAY - 131


Whirlwind of a day!   Started off by going to lunch with Nashville songwriter Jason Blume.  It was a great to chance to follow up and talk about potential future writing projects.  We ate at 'Sylvan Park Restaurant' (the same tiny hole-in-the-wall joint as last time) Still as charming as ever, serving traditional country dishes by sweet little waitresses that look like grandma.

From there it was off to ASCAP Nashville.  (This is where a little magic happened)  Just so happens, possibly because of chance of snow, that no one showed up to song pitch session except for me and Sue.  So we literally had an hour, one-on-one meeting with top Nashville publisher Shane Barrett!!  I got to play him 3 songs (20/20, Cupcakes & Wine, All I Need Is A Memory) and we chatted about my goals and aspirations as a songwriter/artist.  He really dug everything I showed him, gave me his card and said 'let's keep in touch I look forward to hearing more from you'!  This was a HUGE day.  I will be following up to say the least :)  If you haven't heard '20/20' or 'Cupcakes & Wine' you can listen here www.sweetangelinemusic.com

From ASCAP, it was off to the famous Bluebird Cafe where ASCAP was hosting an emerging songwriter's night.  I didn't get to play this one, but I met a couple very talented writers and some high-ups at ASCAP.  I handed out some CDs...

Then it was off for a great dinner!  We ended up at a fantastic restaurant called 'Sambuca'  in the Gulch section of the city.  The food was amazing!  Perfect way to end a killer productive day.

DAY - 132


Woke up 9am and it was off to check out some Real Estate.  Our wonderful Real Estate agent, Nick, picked us up from the Hotel (in his white Mercedes) and basically drove us around ALL of Nashville looking at properties and locations.  If I said it before I'll say it again, Nashville is beautiful!  If you haven't been...GO!  Long story short, we're in love with the East Nashville and Germantown areas of the city.  Super-cool locations with great restaurants/bars and not to mention all the brand new real estate.

From there it was off to record with J Fred Knobloch.  Fred and I spent all night recording 2 songs that we wrote.  The demos are coming together nicely.  We talked about doing a couple different versions of the one song so we can have more options when pitching to artists.   Heading back there on Saturday to finish up!  Can't for you to hear.  

Alright, time to get crackin' on today.  More to come soon. Cheers!
 

DAY - 130

Just arrived in Nashville, TN!  I'm sitting in Starbucks reading through emails while Sue is sitting across from me already looking into Real Estate (I guess you can say we're excited to be here)

I got an email today from Kary Sit founder of KCS Entertainment (refer to Day 126)  I've been emailing back and forth with Kary, getting more info on the company and vice versa.  Here's what I found...  

We are connected to UMG US and UMG Asia. We pitche songs to major artists including Katy Perry, Jordin Sparks, Janet Jackson, you name it. Our writer rosters includes producers for Nelly, Usher, Omarion, Keri Hilson, Katy Perry, MTV, VH1, FOX. And recent years we affiliate with Korea Major labels with their artists such as Girl Generation, Lexy, Kara, SS501 etc and also UMG Taiwan, UMG Hong Kong, UMG China, and Japan Avex Trax and Sony.

We also constantly seeking for song placement for Movie and TV, we just landed 6 songs for a movie in December. 

I responded by saying I was definitely interested in working with their company... how would you like to proceed?  So we shall see!   

Also got word today from co-writer, Liv Devine that Carrie Underwood is looking for songs.  We decided to submit "Cupcakes & Wine" and "Remember the Summer Nights" via Music X Ray.  Carrie Underwood is a HUGE artist so competition for this will be super tough. Keeping fingers crossed! 

Alright, time to check into the Hotel.  See you tomorrow! 

DAY - 129

Great weekend!  I played a fantastic show with the Liv Devine Band on Saturday night.  Had the chance to perform a bunch of the new country songs (20/20, Cupcakes & Wine, Boots, ect.) with a full band, in front of a great crowd for the first time.  The band was super tight and the crowd was dancing and singing along.  Awesome evening for new music.  Cheers!

Bags are packed, getting ready to hit the road.  Decided to leave a day early to break up the drive into two days instead of one straight shot.  Nash-Vegas here we come :)   Just picked up some freshly pressed promotional CDs, packaged by the wonderful people at Staples.  Looking forward to handing a bunch out of these out this week.   Just emailed everyone to make sure the itinerary is set.  Here's how its looking...

Wednesday:  -Lunch with Jason Blume
                     - Song pitch meeting at ASCAP
                     - Up and coming songwriter's night  at BlueBird Cafe hosted by ASCAP

Thursday:  - Meeting a Real Estate agent to look at properties in Nashville (Yes, considering a relocation)
                  - Recording a demo with J Fred Knobloch

Friday:       - Free day so far... probably see a show or try and hit an open mic.

Saturday:   - Recording a demo with J Fred Knobloch

Sunday:     - Free day so far

I'll be keeping you updated on the day to day so stay tuned.  Keep your fingers crossed and send some luck my way!

DAY - 128

TGIF!  More Nashville planning underway...

This upcoming week is going to be a BIG week for demoing new songs!  Can't wait for you to hear a handful of new tunes I've been working on.  Stay tuned for new music :)  

Also, Today I submitted to another listing on Music X Ray for 101 Distribution. I noticed that a writer from 'Ten Ten Music Publishing' in Nashville has had success through 101 Distribution so I decided to send an email out to try and connect.

Hope you have a great weekend!

DAY - 127

Early bird catches the worm as they say.  I truly do not mean to preach when I tell you... one priceless thing I've learned from doing this blog is this...  When you email or call a new contact, do it first thing in the morning!  Sometimes I forget my own advice or I'm lazy and I wait until later,  but EVERYTIME I send the email first thing in the morning (8 - 9am) I get a response later that day!  

Early this morning (8:30am) I emailed Steve Kline from 10th Street Entertainment. www.10thst.com
 Steve Kline is the VP of marketing and promotion at this top NYC music management firm.  I was introduced to Steve via Linked In by my good friend Laura Brodsky.  I contacted Steve, introduced myself, and told him a little bit about my goals.  Wouldn't you know it...he got right back to me this afternoon and let me know he would be checking out my stuff!  10th Street predominately handles harder rock and metal such as Papa Roach, BuckCherry, Motley Crue..etc... so I let him know that even if my material isn't a good fit for his company, I was wondering if he could steer me in the right direction.
I'll keep you posted!

Also had a great writing session with the 'Sweet Angeline' team, Tyler James and Liv Devine.  Working on some pretty cool ideas.  One in particular, we've decided to bring to J Fred Knobloch. Looking forward to seeing how it develops.  Time to get some dinner... see you tomorrow!

DAY - 126

Woke up this morning and realized my license has been expired for 3 months...needless to say it was off to the DMV.  Got back just in time for a Skype writing session with J Fred Knobloch.  Fred and I just finished the second our second song.  We also discussed plans for demoing while I'm in town.  I'm really excited about the work we've done...can't wait to get something recorded!

After the session, I checked my email and found something interesting from Kary Sit.  Kary is the founder of KCS Entertainment www.kcsenter.com (refer to Day 116) KCS Entertainment works with major labels in the states as well as around the world.  Kary let me know that they're interested in working with me and just sent me a listing for a Korean Pop label looking for music!  She also wanted me to send over a short bio... so I wrote one up real quick and emailed her back.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed,  this outlet could lead to some cool opportunities!  

Also, got a couple new leads today on some publishing companies in NYC and Nashville... more on that tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

DAY - 125

Met with co-writer Tyler James this morning to record a quick reference of the idea we're sending to Jason Blume. (refer to yesterday)  We ended up sending it to him this afternoon so we'll see what he thinks!

Spoke to a rep from ASCAP today and I'm all set up for the publisher pitch meeting next Wednesday in Nashville. (refer to yesterday)  It just so happens that publisher/ascap rep, Michael Martin, will be hosting the session.  I'm excited about this because I met Michael back in August.  He was very receptive so it'll be cool to show him the new stuff I've been working on!  If anything, it'll be a good follow up.

Today I also submitted to a listing on Music X Ray.  Apparently, Bruno Mars is looking for songs.   I sent a VERY rough version of a song so I'm hoping the person listening can look past the unproduced nature and hear the song for what it is.  We'll see...

DAY - 124

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Nashville 2012!!  Decided to kick off the new year with a spontaneous trip to Nashville.  My (extremely supportive) girlfriend, Susan and I are packing the new Kia Sportage and shipping out for a road trip next Tuesday, January 10th thru Sunday, January 15th. :)   So excited to be back in music city USA!  The planning has just begun...

Today I sent an email to Anna Maki at ASCAP Nashville to try and sign up for their Wednesday publisher pitch meeting.  I also spoke with co-writer J Fred Knobloch and it looks like we're going to be recording our song.  I'm so pumped to get a demo of this tune so we can start pitching it.  Can't wait for you to hear it!  Lastly, I emailed with co-writer Jason Blume and we're getting together for lunch next Wednesday...also showing him a new dance/pop song idea for possible collaboration.  Hopefully he digs it, because I know he'd be great to write this one with.

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