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We feature
a brand new Grammy-Winner Tim Fagan,
who speaks about the events that led
up to his winning a Grammy for
writing “Lucky” with Jason Mraz and
Colbie Caillat, and “Deeper” with
John Mayer, as well as answering
questions on the arc of his career..
He’s been featured on MTV’s Real World, CBS’s Joan of Arcadia, and John Mayer’s iPod. He’s booked himself over 80 gigs in a year since moving to LA. And he’s just put the finishing touches on a stunning new EP called Out of The Dark. Departing from the layered acoustic sound of 2004’s Whirlpool, Out of The Dark works electric guitar and backbeat into a high-energy showcase of Fagan’s focused, melody-driven brand of pop. “Basically, the acoustic is sitting this round out. I’ve also added a couple doses of piano, tried to push bigger feelings into simpler lyrics, and given it more groove. We’ve streamlined.” The infectious beats came courtesy of veteran session ace Voyce McGinley, with mixing duties in the hands of acclaimed rock expert Brett Chassen.
Visit Tim at
www.TimFagan.com |
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For 30 years, Freebo played bass on recordings and toured with some of the great artists of our time--people like Bonnie Raitt (10 years), John Mayall, CSN, Maria Muldaur, Ringo Starr, Michelle Shocked, Neil Young, Loudon Wainwright III, Dr. John, and many others.
He has also appeared on Saturday Night Live, Midnight Special, Muppets Tonight, and in concert with the legendary Spinal Tap.
Yearning for more creative expression, however, Freebo began a process of deep inner discovery and has now evolved into an award-winning singer/songwriter, having won The 2008 Posi Award for “Best Song” in The Most Uniting Category, The '07 Los Angeles Music Awards “Best Folk Artist”, and The '07 South Florida Songwriting Contest, as well as being nominated in 5 different categories in the JPF Awards with two songs in the top 10 of the USA Songwriting Contest and a finalist in 2009 The Great American Songwriting Contest.
Now he has chosen to share the many things he’s learned over the years.
In this workshop, Freebo will give you specific tools and hints for your songwriting, song-arrangement, and performing, all within the context of honoring your special gifts and giving yourself permission and the courage to become the artist/musician you’ve always wanted to be. In a world of judgment and criticism, we are filled with the voices of others telling us how to be.
He will help you to find your own voice, figuratively and literally. Along with the craft of songwriting, he will also help you to shape your song with arrangement, chord substitutions, and phrasing ideas. And in performing your song, Freebo covers the topics of fear, preparation, tools, timing, and communication. How do you connect to your audience? You become one with them!
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We feature an exclusive hour-plus
video in which acclaimed author Paul
Zollo discusses interviews he’s done
with Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Frank
Zappa, Steely Dan, and many others
for his bestselling book
“Songwriter’s on Songwriting”- Learn
how these giants created their HIT
SONGS!
Paul Zollo is the
author of several books, including
The Beginning Songwriter’s Answer
Book, Songwriters On Songwriting,
Songwriters On Songwriting (Expanded
Edition), Hollywood Remembered (An
Oral History of Its Golden Age),
Conversations with Tom Petty, Sunset
and Cahuenga (A Novel) and The
Schirmer’s Complete Rhyming
Dictionary. Songwriters On
Songwriting has been expanded three
times and features in-depth
interviews with many of the world’s
greatest songwriters, including Bob
Dylan, Paul Simon, Randy Newman,
Laura Nyro, Pete Seeger, Leonard
Cohen, Neil Young and Frank Zappa.
It has been called “the ultimate
book about songwriting” and "the
songwriter's bible," and is used as
a textbook in songwriting courses in
many universities, including USC,
UCLA, and the Berklee School of
Music.
Zollo is an
accomplished songwriter and singer.
He was the leader of the Hollywood
band The Ghosters, who were named
“The Best Unsigned Band in Los
Angeles” in 1993 by the Los Angeles
Free Press, and released one
self-titled album, featuring his
songs.
Click Here for more info on Paul
Zollo. |
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We feature
Part 1 of an exclusive,
super-intensive interview with
Michael Laskow, founder and CEO of
TAXI - The world’s foremost
independent A&R vehicle that
connects unsigned artists, bands and
songwriters with major record
labels, Film and TV placements, etc.
Get the inside scoop about how TAXI
actually works, and how you can work
with them to further your career.
Michael Laskow has become one of the most well-connected people in the music business today. As President and Chief Executive Officer of TAXI, he is in daily contact with Directors and Vice Presidents of A&R at virtually all major record labels, many prominent independent labels, publishers, and music supervisors working on film and TV projects.
Laskow began his career in 1974 at Criteria Studios in Miami Florida. As an engineer/producer Laskow has worked with artists such as Neil Young, Firefall, Melanie, Cheap Trick, Eric Clapton, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and many more.
In 1992 Michael founded TAXI, the Independent A&R Vehicle. TAXI specializes in helping major record labels, publishers, and music supervisors for film and television find new talent and songwriters throughout the United States and 30 other countries. It has been hailed as the most realistic method available to get one's music to major companies in the music industry. TAXI works with over 500 companies including A&M, Almo Sounds, Arista, Atlantic, BMG, Benson, Capitol, Columbia, DreamWorks, Elektra, Epic, Geffen, Interscope, Island, Maverick, MCA, Mercury, Motown, RCA, Sony, Virgin, Warner Brothers, Word, and many more
Visit TAXI at
www.Taxi.com |
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We feature an exclusive video
interview with Dan Kimpel, music
business author, on his book
“Networking Strategies for the New
Music Business” with must-have
information on how you can get to
the people who can get you to the
next step. Every songwriter who
considers themselves in the music
business will not want to miss this!
Acknowledged as one of the
American media's foremost
authorities on popular music and
songwriters, Dan Kimpel contributes
to a dizzying variety of print and
electronic mediums: books,
interactive CD's, magazines, web
sites, feature films, videos and new
media. In print, Dan contributes
cover features to the west coast
trade publication Music Connection
magazine, plus a regular column,
“Song Biz,” that includes a profile
of a writer or composer in each
issue. To date, Dan has conducted
over 300 interviews for the magazine
covering such diverse talents as
Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette,
Randy Newman, Glen Ballard, John
Mayer, Jill Scott and Rufus
Wainwright. Other publications that
feature his writing include BMI
World, ASCAP Playback, Grammy, SESAC
Magazine, Film Music and American
Songwriter.
Dan’s book on
maximizing personal relationships,
Networking Strategies For The New
Music Business (ArtistPro/Thomson)
is the follow up to his best-selling
title, Networking in the Music
Business. Over five years, he
conducted a weeklong master class on
networking at Sir Paul McCartney's
Liverpool Institute for Performing
Arts (LIPA) in the UK. Stateside, he
lectures at colleges, universities
and conferences across the U.S. and
Canada, and he is currently on the
faculty of Musician's Institute in
Hollywood where he is the two-time
MBP Teacher of the Year honoree.
How They Made It: True Stories
of How Music’s Biggest Stars Went
From Start to Stardom, signing
stories of today’s most successful
recording artists, was released in
2006 by Hal Leonard. Electrify My
Soul: Songwriters and the Spiritual
Source followed in 2008 from
Thomson/PTR and in 2009 came It All
Begins with the Music: Developing
Successful Artists & Careers for the
New Music Business, co-authored with
legendary A&R executive, Don
Grierson.
Visit Dan at
www.DanKimpel.com |
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We offer an
exclusive Q & A with Multi-Platinum
HIT songwriter Jason Blume. His
songs are on albums that have sold
over 45 million copies, has written
songs for the Backstreet Boys,
Britney Spears, and top Country
hits, speaking about the most
important things that make songs
HITS!
A staff-writer
for Zomba Music since 1991, Jason
Blume is one of those rare
individuals to ever achieve the
distinction of having songs on the
Country, Pop and R & B charts -- all
at the same time. Blume's songs are
on albums that have sold more than
25 million copies in the past year.
His song, "Back to Your Heart" is
included on the Backstreet Boys'
Grammy nominated "Millennium" album,
which shattered all first-week sales
records with sales in the U.S.
exceeding 1,133,000. Debuting at #1
in the U.S. as well as in seven
additional countries, the album has
received "Gold" or "Platinum" awards
in 45 countries and was named
Billboard's "Album of the Year." His
upcoming releases include "Dear
Diary" (written with Britney Spears)
on the follow-up to Britney's 15
million-selling debut, his third cut
with country star Collin Raye,
recordings by Ronan Keating, (lead
singer for "Boyzone," Europe's #1
pop band), "Solid HarmoniE," and
Boyz n Girlz United.
This
multitalented writer's recent hits
include John Berry's Top 5 country
single, "Change My Mind," and Steve
Azar's country hit "I Never Stopped
Lovin' You." Previous chart singles
include cuts by the Oak Ridge Boys,
MC Potts and Darlene Austin. In 1997
Blume was presented with a
prestigious ASCAP Award for "Change
My Mind" being "One of the Most
Performed Songs of the Year" on
country radio. Blume's work is
featured on the soundtrack of
Disney's hit film, "First Kid"
starring Sinbad. On television his
songs have been heard on the "Miss
America Pageant," "Dangerous Minds,"
"Fame," "Entertainment Tonight,"
Emmy-Award winning "Whatever
Happened to Childhood," and
Emmy-nominated PBS "Frontline"
episode, "Down For the Count."
One of the nation's most
respected songwriting teachers,
Blume presents seminars
internationally and developed and
teaches BMI's Nashville Songwriters
Workshops and "Demo Derby." He has
taught his songwriting techniques as
a guest lecturer at U.C.L.A. and as
a member of the faculty of Los
Angeles' Pierce College and
Nashville's Watkins Institute. His
lessons are used by Nashville
Songwriters Association
International's members throughout
the U.S. and internationally.
Visit Jason at
www.JasonBlume.com |
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Arthur Hamilton is an award winning composer and lyricist. His songs have been performed by nearly every major recording and performing artist. He has received four Platinum records, as well as nominations for an Oscar, three Emmys and a Golden Globe. He has written extensively for films, television and the concert stage. His list of compositions includes: Cry Me a River, He Needs Me, Sing a Rainbow, The Best I Ever Was, Rain Sometimes, Till Love Touches Your Life. Arthur is a long-time member of the Board of Directors of ASCAP and member of the Board of Governors of AMPAS (the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). He is also the past President of SCL (the Society of Composers and Lyricists), NAS (the National Academy of Songwriters), and of CCC (the California Copyright Conference). |
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This month
we examine King of Leon’s “Use
Somebody”. This song recently won 2
Grammy’s; Record of the Year and
Best Rock Song. We look at all the
pieces; Lyrics, Melody, Harmony,
Production, and more to see why this
song was a number one hit. Inside
the Hits will show you techniques
that you can use in writing your own
hit songs!
Kings of Leon is an American
rock band that formed in Nashville,
Tennessee, United States in 1999,
consisting of brothers Anthony Caleb
Followill (lead vocals, rhythm
guitar), Ivan Nathan Followill
(drums, percussion, backing vocals)
and Michael Jared Followill (bass,
backing vocals), with their cousin
Cameron Matthew Followill (lead
guitar, backing vocals). Each member
of the family group is known by his
middle name (second given name) as
opposed to his first given name.
The band's early music was an
upbeat blend of southern rock and
blues influences but the band has
gradually expanded their sound to
include a variety of genres and a
more alternative rock or arena rock
sound. Kings of Leon achieved
initial success in the United
Kingdom with nine Top 40 singles,
two BRIT Awards in 2008, and all
three of the band's albums at the
time peaking in the top five of the
UK Albums Chart. Their third album
Because of the Times also reached
the #1 spot. After the release of
Only by the Night in September 2008
they finally achieved chart success
in their native United States. The
singles "Sex on Fire", "Use
Somebody" and "Notion" all peaked at
#1 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks.
The album itself was their first
ever platinum-selling album in the
United States. It was the best
selling album of 2008 in Australia,
being certified nine-times Platinum.
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We examine
Train’s “Calling All Angels” to see
what makes it tick, pointing out the
details of what made it a number one
hit! These tutorials disassembling
songs, closely examining their
unique elements, are essential not
only for guidance, but also as
inspiration for all songwriters.
Train is a Grammy Award-winning
rock-pop band formed in San
Francisco, California. To date,
three of their albums have peaked in
the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and
have sold a total of over 4 million
albums in the US. Four of their
songs have been top 20 hits on the
Billboard Hot 100. Train has found
success on modern adult contemporary
radio stations, where they have had
nine songs in the top 20 of the Hot
Adult Top 40 Tracks chart.
The
band's third album, My Private
Nation, was released in June 2003
with "Calling All Angels" as the
lead single. "Calling All Angels"
became Train's third top 20 hit, and
was a major hit on the Billboard Hot
Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. The
song became popular for a short time
in 2009, when Los Angeles Angels
pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in
a car accident.
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