Making it 365

DAY - 163

2012-02-24T06:17:00.004-08:00

Great news!! Katie O'Halloran from EMI Music Publishing Canada got back to me. (refer to yesterday) She said she would love to feature my Contemporary Country group 'Sweet Angeline' on her website! www.ithinkiloveit.com

I'm so pumped! I wrote her back, gave her my info and we're going to talk more in detail before she does a feature. In light of the good news, we amped up the 'Sweet Angeline' website and added a couple new songs for streaming. Check it out www.sweetangelinemusic.com

Now its off to an early rehearsal with the Liv Devine Band. I'm playing an acoustic show with the band for Thunder 106.5 opening for American Idol's Casey James! The show will be at the Brickhouse Bar and Grill in Brick NJ. If you live around that area and think you want to come hang out...check out the website for more details www.livdevine.com

All good things! I'll let you know when the feature goes up on Katie's site. Cheers and have a great weekend!

DAY - 162

2012-02-23T10:54:00.000-08:00

The weather in Philadelphia is absolutely beautiful right now! 60+ degrees and the sun is shining. You'd never know its still February.

In light of the beautiful day, I was feeling pretty ambitious this morning so I decided to reach out to 2 contacts today instead of just 1. The first was Jake Livingston, A&R rep for Major Label, Epic Records. He posted a listing, searching for fun, upbeat, positive songs that have potential to become BIG summer hits! I decided to send over "Cupcakes & Wine" If you haven't heard it yet, you can listen here: http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/cupcakes-wine

The second contact I found today was through Music X Ray as well. This one I thought was really cool! Katie O'Halloran is a Music Publisher rep from EMI Music Publishing Canada. She is apparently looking for artists, songwriters and producers to feature on her Blog www.ithinkiloveit.com (check it out..its really cool! You might find someone you like that hasn't been discovered yet) This site highlights and features unsigned, up and coming artists and songwriters! I wrote her an email, introducing myself/ letting her know my goals, then gave some links to my music. If she digs what I'm doing and decides to feature me on her blog this will definitely help get some recognition as well as a great connection to EMI Music Publishing!

Cheers to great weather!

DAY - 161

2012-02-22T07:11:00.000-08:00

Random thought last night while watching Miranda Lambert's Invitation Only concert on the Palladia network. I've officially decided upon my top 5 favorite songs. Not in specific order...

1) 'Mr. Jones' - Counting Crows
2) 'Jolene' - Ray LaMontagne
3) 'Piano Man' - Billy Joel
4) 'The House That Built Me' - writers: Tom Douglas & Allen Shamblin. Performed by: Miranda Lambert
5) 'Come Pick Me Up' - Ryan Adams

These may be subject to change but after forcing myself to think about it last night, this is what I came up with...for what its worth :)

Anyway, today was a good networking day. I was able to secure the contact of BMG Chrysalis Publisher, Daniel Lee. BMG Chrysalis is a HUGE publishing company...just google it and you'll see who they deal with. I emailed Daniel a short but sweet message introducing myself, including a link to "20/20". I'm hoping I can peak his interest.

I also emailed creative director, Audrey Faires from Ten Ten Music Group (An indie music publishing company in Nashville) I basically sent the same email to her as well. These were both personal email addresses so I know I'm getting through. My hope is that they take a minute to check it out. A minute of someone's time is often asking a lot, especially when the request is coming from an unknown like me. But we'll see!

DAY - 160

2012-02-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

Today I emailed music publisher/song plugger Shane Barrett. (refer to Day 147) I met Shane at ASCAP in Nashville and have been keeping in touch. He recently wrote me an email letting me know he was interested in hearing more songs. Since Fred and I basically finished our demo of "Heart On A String" I figured I'd send that over to see what he thinks. I don't necessarily know if Shane has any ties to Disney Pixar or is working with any artists that would cut the song, I more or less want to stay on his radar by presenting quality work time after time. We'll see if it works :)

Also, just booked the writing session with songwriter Paul Sottile (refer to day 142+143) for this Friday. Looking forward to the session! Keep you posted.

DAY - 159

2012-02-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

Heard back from Jason Blume and we're pitching "20/20" to Luke Bryan this week! I think we've given Blake Shelton ample time to jump on it...he hasn't... so we're moving on. Say some prayers and keep those fingers crossed people! :) If you haven't heard "20/20" you can do so here... http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/20-20

Feeling under the weather today so I took the day off from school. Taking advantage of the downtime, I was able to do some research and stumbled across Bill Silva Entertainment. Bill Silva represents acts like Jason Mraz and Christina Perri. I reached out to Bill for management consideration. I've been noticing that every established publisher "does not accept unsolicited material". In other words, they don't let you in the door unless someone else, who they think is credible, walks you through.

Soooo... I decided to reach out to a management company in the hopes of gaining a "teammate" in the pursuit of getting that coveted publishing deal. Basically, I'm looking for someone who might be interested in shopping me around. I don't know, just another thought, I figured I'd give it a try. I still think the best way to get in the door is to get one of your songs recorded on a major record or movie. But, a wise man once said, "more than one road can take you to the same place."

DAY - 158

2012-02-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

TGIF! Another week down, 23 more weeks to go. Today I heard back from Anna at ASCAP Nashville. (Refer to yesterday) She came through for me again, securing the contact info for Luke Bryan's team! I emailed co-writer Jason Blume with the pitch idea and contact info. We're still waiting to hear back something from Blake Shelton's team so I'm sure we won't make any moves yet, but I figured it'd be cool to have something on the back burner. Regardless, Its great to have the contact info for future reference. Alright, gotta get ready for a busy weekend of gigs and recording. Hope you have a great weekend!

DAY - 157

2012-02-16T11:10:00.000-08:00

Decided to change up the scenery on this gloomy, cold, Thursday afternoon. Instead of making my usual stop at the local Starbucks, I ducked into Cosi on Locust street in Philly... enjoying a coffee and a sandwich. I don't come here enough. Free wi-fi, nice atmosphere and the food ain't bad either.

I was G-chatting (i.e. Google Chat) with Sue and I was complaining about not being able to find a good networking angle today, when she brilliantly suggested, "Why don't you try to find contact info on Luke Bryan's team?" Great idea! Luke Bryan is a break out country star. Back to back hits like, "Do I", "All My Friends Say", "Country Girl Shake It For Me", "Drunk On You" etc... he's pushing the edge of country crossover. He would be a great pitch for some of the new singles I'm writing/demoing.
Long story short, today I emailed Anna Maki at ASCAP Nashville to see anyone at the office could help me acquire contact info for Luke Bryan's team. Keep you posted on that!

Also, I heard back from songwriter Paul Sottile (refer to Day 142 +143) and it looks like we're going to try to get together next week for a writing session! Looking forward to it.

Cheers!

DAY 155 + 156

2012-02-15T11:57:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the delay! Hope you had a romantic and wonderful Valentine's day. If you didn't, someone out there is missing out. Sue and I went to dinner and unfortunately had the worst meal ever! Feeling sick today. Oh well, the wine was good as well as the company. ;)

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, as promised, Here's the first rough mix of "Heart On A String" by Michael August & J Fred Knobloch
http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/heart-on-a-string-ruff-mix

***This is the song we're pitching Disney/Pixar. Fred is singing, I'm playing piano and my Dad, August Walton, wrote and arranged the horn section. Let me know what you think!!

So the past couple days have been a whirlwind of writing, recording and networking. Yesterday, Liv Devine, Tyler James and I got together for a writing session. Wound up being a killer day. We finished a whole song (dance/pop ala Brittany Spears, Katy Perry) and started another one (country/pop ala Lady A) The new one sounds absolutely beautiful, in my opinion. Great news as well, today we sent the idea to J Fred Knobloch and he loved it and wants to write it with us. Definitely pumped because Fred is such an incredible writer its a pleasure to have him join the team! Today I had Tyler and Liv record the background harmonies on "Heart On A String" so stay tuned for the final mix!

I heard back from HoriPro Entertainment. Unfortunately, they said they cannot accept unsolicited material...gonna have to try and find a way around that. I wrote back politely thanking them for their time.

DAY - 154

2012-02-13T10:45:00.000-08:00

Hope you had a great weekend! Finally got a little snow. It was actually welcomed (for me at least). It was one of those beautiful looking snowfalls that happened over night and melted in the sun the next day. No hassle, no fuss, just a glistening, white, covering.

So good news, I heard back from Michael Martin at ASCAP this morning. (Refer to Day 135). Its been about a month, but he got back to me and said he's interested in listening to some more music. I'm really excited because Michael truly has his finger on the pulse of the Nashville scene and he's a 'go to' publisher for many labels and A&R reps. Let's just say he's pretty connected. Anyway, I just forwarded him the brand new demo that J Fred Knobloch and I are finishing. Its called, "Heart On A String". I'm really happy with how this one is turning out!! Its the song I've been talking about for the past month (the one we're pitching to Disney Pixar) I'am actually trying to post it online for your listening pleasure right now but the internet connection is so slow, it doesn't seem to be loading. Oh well, I'll post it ASAP. We have one mix done already and we're working on a whole other mix with a full horn section. I'm not gonna lie it sounds preettty sweet. Stay Tuned!!

DAY - 153

2012-02-10T17:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday! Right now I'm sitting at Sweet T's Bakeshop (my sister's Toni & Chrissy bakery) www.sweettbakes.com enjoying a great cup of coffee and sampling the latest creations. I like to think of myself as their 'professional' taste tester. The only downside to this gig is that I've probably gained about 10lbs since they opened in December. Time to hit the gym!

Today I followed up Kary Sit from KSC Entertainment. I haven't heard back since our last email in January so I wanted to touch base and let them know that I am still interested in collaborating. KCS Ent. is constantly pitching music for TV and Film and just had 6 deals landed in December. Definitely want to stay on their radar. Hope you have a great weekend. Cheers!

DAY - 152

2012-02-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

Go at it boldly, and you'll find unexpected forces coming to your aid.

- Basil King from The Conquest of Fear

A month or so ago I had mentioned that Darius Rucker (frontman of Hootie and the Blowfish turned Country star) is looking for songs for a new album. At that time, I reached out to Anna at ASCAP Nashville to try and find contact information for Darius' management or A&R. She got back to me about a week later with the info and we pitched "20/20" to Josh his manager at McGhee Management. Unfortunately, I never heard anything back. Soooo today I decided pitch another song. I sent over "Love Takes Work".
http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/love-takes-work-demo

After sending 'Love Takes Work' to Living Wills Publishing yesterday, I started thinking about the song in general, and 'who' I could potentially hear singing it. All of the sudden, Darius Rucker's voice came out of nowhere and started singing it in my head...lol. I have to laugh at myself because I know that sounds weird...but don't judge me. Listen to the song and picture his voice singing it instead of mine. You'll see what I mean!

.... fingers crossed I hear back this time.

DAY - 151

2012-02-08T06:53:00.000-08:00

Today I contacted yet another indie publishing company in Nashville. This time, instead of contacting a company with a HUGE track record, I contacted a company who seems to be just getting started. 'Living Wills Music Publishing' was formed in 2009 and they've just begun securing cuts for other artists and TV/Film. They're young and hungry...just like me. (This strategy, I've heard, can be very beneficial in some cases) I figured I'd reach out and send them something to see what they think. I sent them my rough working demo of 'Love Takes Work'. I let them know that obviously it isn't a full blown demo, and that I just wanted to get an opinion of the song and the writing. If you haven't heard it yet, you can listen here and make your own opinion. :) http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/love-takes-work-demo

If you like it you can download it for free. Cheers!

DAY - 150

2012-02-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

Day 150...wow! Time seriously flies. Only 215 days left...almost half way there! Incredible how much has happened over the past 150 days. Just started reading through my own blog and got a little overwhelmed with how much can be accomplished if you hit it hard everyday. I can't take all the credit though. The idea to start this blog was actually the brainchild of my loving and supportive girlfriend, Susan. The idea was actually invented and discussed, on a road trip through the mountains of West Virginia, one whole year prior to starting this adventure. So once again, thank you Susie :) And thank you to YOU the readers who have been following and offering suggestions and connections.

Down to business. Today I was researching more Nashville publishers and I came across, Horipro Entertainment. www.horipro.com Horipro has offices overseas as well as Los Angeles and Nashville. They represent a wide variety of music so I thought they could be a good fit. I went to the site and tried emailing creative director, Amy Hendon Scott. She works with the Nashville branch. Getting in the door through email is often the hardest task. We'll see if I get a response. Keep you posted.

DAY - 149

2012-02-06T10:47:00.000-08:00

Its Monday afternoon approximately 1:30pm... that would mean I should be in Starbucks on Broad Street (if you've been keeping track) Like clockwork, I am in deed. Getting my much needed caffeine fix while taking advantage of the free wi-fi.

After doing some research on publishing companies in Nashville, I came across another really well- established and successful indie publisher called 'Ten Ten Music". I emailed both Patrick Clifford (A&R) and Barry Coburn (President) in hopes of getting through and making a connection. I read an article about 'cold contacting' music reps that said it is most important to keep the email short and sweet. So that's what I tried. (Harder than you may think) We'll see if I can break through by email... once again, since I am still an 'unknown' entity, this is a hard task. Regardless, now I have 2 really amazing indie publishing companies on my radar... Big Yellow Dog and Ten Ten Music. Now, the object is to keep my eyes out for other ways to get in front of them! i.e. pitch sessions, workshops, etc... that they might be hosting.

In other news... Still waiting to hear back from Blake Shelton's camp. The fingers are still crossed!!

DAY - 148

2012-02-03T16:24:00.000-08:00

Spent all morning in the studio working on tunes and loading new software onto my studio computer. Tedious stuff but necessary. I spoke with J Fred Knobloch today regarding making connections with Disney Pixar. Looks like we may have a way in to get our song in the mix for consideration in a potential Toy Story 4 movie. Its in the very early stages, but we'll see.

Looking forward to a great weekend of no commitments. Finally!

DAY - 147

2012-02-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

Just heard back from music publisher Shane Barrett! (refer to day 131) Shane is a music publisher responsible for placing a ton of hits songs that you hear on the radio today! We met in Nashville, at ASCAP and I emailed him afterwards to follow up. He got back to me today and said he wanted to hear more music from me... needless to say, I sent him some more tunes and gave links to my song catalog.
I'm definitely going to attempt to keep this relationship growing.

Also, just started looking into music industry meet and greet lunches... I was just tipped off to this by a friend and looks really cool. Apparently, they hold them pretty often in NYC. Which is right around the corner for me so that would be great. More to come on this...

DAY - 146

2012-02-01T13:09:00.000-08:00

New song demos, as promised, for your listening pleasure!!

"I Kinda Like It" - Uptempo, Pop/Country ala Sugarland (M. August, L. Devine, T. James)

http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/i-kinda-like-it

"Boots" - Uptempo, Country/Rock ala Carrie Underwood (M. August, L. Devine, G. Micofsky)

http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/boots

"Boots" is a song I wrote with Liv Devine and her lead guitarist/musical director Gene Micofsky (refer to Day 93) for the Liv Devine Band. There is some serious stuff going on right now with Liv and her band (I'm talking major label interest / recording contract status) So stay tuned for upcoming news!!

Also submitted to this listing today on Music X Ray. I submitted the new demo of
"I Kinda Like It"

Epic Records Looking for radio ready commercially viable records for placement
Song starts, tracks, hooks, lyrics, full songs, anything... looking for songs to place on other artists records, must have memorable chorus, familiar production with a twist, looking for fresh hit songs!!! Country, urban, dance, pop, rock, electro, guitar driven rock songs, piano driven ballads, uptempo preferred. We are looking for youthful, energetic, hooky, positive, melodic, big summer anthems!!!

DAY - 145

2012-01-31T19:48:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-30T10:40:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-27T10:30:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-26T11:08:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-25T20:31:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-24T20:15:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-23T10:47:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-20T05:42:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-19T11:18:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

'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

2012-01-17T09:59:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-17T07:02:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-13T12:06:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-10T15:33:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-06T21:41:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-04T11:42:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-03T17:34:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-02T14:48:00.000-08:00

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.

*Come along for the ride...follow us on Instagram for a closer look at what Nashville is all about!
*Instagram Username: susieb531

DAY - 123

2011-12-30T18:43:00.000-08:00

A lot of songs you write are just for exercise -- just pencil sharpeners.

- Harlan Howard

I read this quote today and it got me thinking about my own writing. I realize that every song I write is not going to be great. Every song is not going to be a hit...not even close! But what I realized today is that its important to not abandon a song just because it may not be "great" or a "hit". I think its important to make every song as best and as tight as it can be both lyrically and melodically. If I can challenge myself to finish most everything I start, it may result in a future idea and ultimately help to hone my craft and make me a better writer. Food for thought...

Anyway, got started early today with a writing session with co-writer's Liv Devine and Gene Micofsky. Had an awesome session! Started a new song idea that Gene brought to the table last week. Looking forward to finishing this tune...it just might be great! :)

Today I contacted Sire Records via MusicXRay. I submitted my song "Caroline". Here's what the listing said...

Music Submissions for Sire Records - Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records. Current roster includes: Against Me, Blu, Eisley, Evan Taubenfeld, Fountains of Wayne, Foxy Shazam, HIM, Jack's Mannequin, LIGHTS, Meg & Dia, Never Shout Never, Regina Spektor, Tegan and Sara, The Maine, The Spill Canvas, The Veronicas

DAY - 122

2011-12-29T16:54:00.000-08:00

Keeping in touch with the Nashville crew...

Today I talked to J Fred Knobloch and made plans to demo the first song we finished. We're shooting to track the demo in about 2 weeks and start pitching right away! Darius Rucker is still looking for songs and I think this one will be a really strong pitch.

I also emailed Jason Blume to touch base and let him know I have a new song idea he might be interested in writing.

DAY - 121

2011-12-29T11:50:00.000-08:00

Blog for yesterday 12/28/11:

Just got an email from Cassie at KCS Entertainment. They are interested in taking on some of my catalog to pitch to their clients! I sent him a link to all my stuff and he's going to go through it and see what will best fit their clients. Stay tuned...hopefully more to come on that!

DAY - 120

2011-12-27T16:44:00.000-08:00

Been in West Virginia since Saturday. Planning on returning tonight but got caught in a HUGE fog. Literally could only see 3 feet in front of me! Looks like we're staying another night. Most business is still closed for the week so I'll have to do some serious make-up through the end of the week and next week. Regardless, I have some cool plans in the works...stay tuned ;)

DAY - 119

2011-12-23T19:58:00.000-08:00

Its the eve of Christmas Eve and I just got back from a family party. The holiday festivities have already begun! Tomorrow happens to be one of my favorite dinners of the year... the traditional Italian 7 fish dinner. But let me tell you, this ain't your average 7 fishes. My family is both Italian and Brazilian and all the women happen to be overachievers in the kitchen (to say the least)...so basically what you get is a mediterranean feast that turns into more like 9 or 10 fish dishes, not even counting the shrimp cocktail or crabcakes :)

Anyway, enough about food, back to business. Today I emailed 'Plaid Elephant Publishing'. I stumbled across their site after doing some research on the net. Plaid Elephant has a handpicked roster of super-talented singer-songwriters and bands that they represent. They also handle music licensing. I emailed them to introduce myself and to send them some material. We'll see if they get back to me.

Hope ya'll have a merry little Christmas and happy holiday!! Be back on Monday... Cheers!

DAY - 118

2011-12-22T19:49:00.000-08:00

Today I emailed/followed up with Jody Friedman from 'HD Music Now publishing'. I spoke with Jody about a month or 2 ago because he was interested in signing an exclusive deal for "Cupcakes & Wine". Since Tyler, Liv and I decided to have Nashville hit songwriter J Fred Knobloch help us pitch the song I didn't end up going with Jody's single-song publishing agreement. I do, however, want to stay in touch because I have other songs I may to work with him on placing. So today I followed up and sent over a couple songs, "Easy to Love" and "Remember the Summer Nights" to see if he may be able to use either in any present or future projects.

I also started looking into NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International). www.nashvillesongwriters.com I've heard from Jason Blume and a couple other writers that I should DEFINITELY get involved with this company because they offer a great deal of opportunities and benefits to songwriters. Since I'm a college student the membership fee for the year is only $100! I started reviewing the site and I think I'm going to join early in the new year. Stay tuned!

DAY - 117

2011-12-21T20:43:00.000-08:00

Cassie Jones from KCS Entertainment got back to me today. They wanted to know if I was already signed to a publisher and if I had any songs published yet. Basically, they let me know they wanted to talk further in detail. I wrote back and let them know I'm not signed yet, but definitely interested in talking some more. Could be interesting...stay tuned!

DAY - 116

2011-12-20T20:11:00.000-08:00

The holiday season is upon us. As hectic as this time of year can be, I still love it. The smell of a Christmas tree, sugar cookies, and over the top lighting displays are worth all the extra traffic and craziness the season brings. Speaking of this hectic time of year, this week and next week probably aren't the best for networking, but I intend to plow ahead anyhow in hopes that the holiday spirit might bring me some good tidings :)

I just got done writing an email to KCS Entertainment, a publishing company based out of Hollywood CA. KCS is a private company who is apparently playing in the global music market. After doing some research, I stumbled across the website and found out that they're in search of new writers! As you can guess, I did not hesitate to submit some material and refer to my websites. We shall see.

Earlier today I also called J Fred Knobloch to set up a potential writing session for next week. Looking forward to finishing the song we started and showing him another new idea!

DAY - 115

2011-12-19T17:57:00.000-08:00

Today I heard back from Stanley at Naz-Sect music publishing. (refer to DAY -114) He said he LOVED "Remember the Summer Nights"... actually to quote him, he said "I think this song is a hit!"
Unfortunately, he said the recording quality wasn't at the level that it needs to be to be considered "Master Quality, so he wouldn't be able to use the track.

I know the track isn't master quality... its a demo. However, it just goes to show how competitive the market is!! Normal song demo's just don't cut it these days. Not all, but a lot of Music Labels and Publishing Companies do not have the time or $$$ to spend cutting a master recording, even if they LOVE the song. They are looking for HIT songs already wrapped and tied up in a bow.

He ended the email by saying, "if you get a professional mix and master of this song, re-submit it and we'll start pitching it." Definitely food for thought! I wrote back and thanked him for listening and told him I'd definitely be keeping in touch.

DAY - 114

2011-12-16T13:31:00.000-08:00

Kicked off the semester break the right way... 3 days 3 writing amazing sessions in a row! Today I got together with my good friend and long time songwriting partner Eric Schwank. Eric had a beautiful new song idea that we worked on this morning and actually ended up finishing the whole thing! Its an inspiring and emotional mid tempo song that can truly be pitched to any market. Its not a 'country' song or a 'rock' song or 'pop' song...its just a great song! So psyched for you to hear it so stay tuned for the demo!

Today I was able to reach out to an independent publishing company based out of North Carolina called 'Sect-Naz Publishing'. They look as if they're in the early stages of development, but seem to be doing some great things. I submitted some material to them including "Easy to Love" http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/easy-to-love and wrote an email with my intentions as a writer. We'll see what they think!

TGIF! Have a great weekend :)

DAY - 113

2011-12-15T21:32:00.000-08:00

Today I got together with the 'Sweet Angeline' team and stumbled onto a killer new song idea. We had a great day of writing that will hopefully lead to finishing a new tune.

After the session, I emailed Philly hit songwriter Scot Sax back (refer to past couple days) about getting together next week. Stay tuned for more details.

I also read through the WAP publishing agreement and everything looks kosher. I'll be submitting "Remember the Summer Nights" to their catalog so we'll see how it goes.

I also happened to stumble across singer/songwriter , Rachael Yamagata's page on facebook and decided to shoot her email. She's a super talented songwriter who's has had a ton of success that's gone under the radar. Facebook isn't really the best for networking, but I figured trying to make a connection couldn't hurt.

Alright, writing session early tomorrow morning... time for bed... goodnight yall

DAY - 112

2011-12-14T20:05:00.000-08:00

Great day for music! Started off bright and early... out of bed at 6am to warm up for my 9am final performance of the semester at University of the Arts. (refer to yesterday) Felt great about it. Nice way to close the semester. Finished everything up around 9:30am and from there it was right back home for an 11am skype writing session with nashville hit songwriter, J Fred Knobloch. Killer day! Fred and I started digging in on a new idea. I'm really excited about where its going. Its a bouncy, light-hearted, love song in the vein of Michael Buble's "Haven't Met You Yet". Can't wait to finish!

Later today I got some fantastic news! I heard back from the last MusicXRay listing I submitted to. (refer to DAY - 110) I got an email from Jim Hughes at WAP Publishing and they offered me a non-exclusive contract. WAP publishing is a London based publishing house that pitches/places songs with film and tv advertising and they want to include my stuff in their catalog. This is not an actual "Publishing Deal" but definitely a cool way to potentially get my songs placed with major ad companies. Nonetheless, another iron in the fire...Cheers! Here's what he said...

Hey Michael,

Thanks for submitting your music to me at MusicXray. I checked out both of your websites and you have some really good stuff there. We would love to have you on our artist roster and have your music available to the clients we work with including Chevy, Coke, Pepsi, Unilever, Microsoft, Campbell's Soup and many more. Our catalog is also used by over 30,000 filmmakers worldwide.

DAY - 111

2011-12-13T11:44:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I ever mentioned this on the blog, but I'm currently pursuing my Master's degree in music at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Between school, teaching, writing, performing and now networking everyday, the past 4 months have been INSANE to say the least! Tomorrow I will be performing my Jury (yearly graded performance) at school at 9am, then I'm off for a month! Can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to the break. I intend to the hit the writing and networking extra hard over break and try to make some solid headway...and it starts tomorrow!

Just got off the phone with hit Nashville songwriter J Fred Knobloch. We scheduled a skype writing session tomorrow right after my Jury is over. That's right, no celebrating, no end of semester partying for me, I've got some writing to do! :)

I also did some research on other Nashville recording studios and got in touch with a studio owned by famous session drummer, Lonnie Wilson. (Lonnie has played on countless hits from Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, just to name a few) Lonnie offers GREAT rates and amazing recording quality, and not to mention, he plays on the tracks! J Fred happens to have an 'in' at the studio so it looks like I'm going to be doing some future recordings there. Stay Tuned!

DAY - 110

2011-12-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

I heard back from Philadelphia hit songwriter, Scot Sax today. (refer to DAY 108) Looks like I'm going to be getting together with Scot to do some writing either next week or after Christmas!! I'm definitely pumped about this. Scot is a great writer. I'm looking forward to sharing some of the new ideas I have brewing. Stay tuned!

I also submitted to another listing today on MusicXRay. I submitted the female version of
"Remember the Summer Nights" You can listen here... http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/remember-the-summer-nights-female-version

Here's what the listing says:

WAP Publishing is seeking Country, Alternative Country, Bluegrass, and Western genres
WAP Publishing works with brands around the world and we are constantly in need of new country music for placements. We are looking for everything from folk to alternative country. If you have something good, we want to hear it. If we like what we hear, we will contact you with details.

DAY - 109

2011-12-09T18:33:00.001-08:00

I heard back from Ryan Beuschel at ASCAP today. (Refer to day 106) He had an interesting critique about my song, "Half the Girl". He said, I change the main pronoun of the story too much from 'You' to 'She'. Now, this is something I did because I liked how it sounded poetically...however, for song pitching, it is very true. You need to keep the pronouns constant. Definitely food for thought.

Today was a super busy day so the only thing I was able to accomplish was a quick submission to a MusicXray listing. I submitted my song "Caroline". Here's what the listing said...

Epic Records A&R rep Jake Livingston is looking for song starts, tracks, hooks, lyrics, full songs, anything... looking for songs to place on other artists records, must have memorable chorus, familiar production with a twist, looking for fresh hit songs!!! Country, urban, dance, pop, rock, electro, guitar driven rock songs, piano driven ballads, uptempo preferred.

DAY - 108

2011-12-08T10:11:00.001-08:00

Today I followed up with Philadelphia hit songwriter, Scot Sax. I met Scot about a year ago at University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Scot holds private and group songwriting workshops here in Philly so I wanted to get in touch with him to see if he has any sessions coming up or if we can schedule a private session. Scot is a fantastic and extremely versatile writer that has many placements with TV/Film and a HUGE cut with Faith Hill and Tim McGraw called, "Like We Never Loved At All".

Also, I already heard back from that last MusicXray listing... it wasn't a perfect pitch for what he was looking forward, but still got pretty good news! This is what he said:

This song has a good hook, and I like the style a lot. Although this song in particular was not selected at this time, I'd like to hear more, definitely. -NRE
It doesn't quite meet what we're currently seeking but I will keep this track in mind and share it with colleagues

DAY - 107

2011-12-07T10:14:00.001-08:00

To keep with my goal this week of following up....

Today I emailed high profile ASCAP rep and publisher Michael Martin. I met Michael back in August in Nashville. (refer to Day 13, August) He really liked the material we showed him back in August so I wanted to try and stay on his radar. I sent him over the song, '20/20' and let him know that we worked on it with hit Nashville songwriter, Jason Blume (figured a little name dropping couldn't hurt)

I also submitted to another listing on MusicXRay... here's what it said:

I have the ability to solicit material to a number of major and independent labels, and have been encouraged to do so by these labels. Let me hear what you've got to offer, if I like it, it may end up in the personal email of an A&R representative or producer that I interact with on a regular basis.

DAY - 106

2011-12-06T07:09:00.001-08:00

My college Marketing professor once told me, "The key to good networking is making sure to always follow up."

Thought I'd get an early start this morning and emailed Ryan Beuschel from ASCAP. I met Ryan back in October when the 'Sweet Angeline' team went down to Nashville to record our demo with Jason Blume. Ryan was the 27 year old creative rep with an office bigger than my apartment. (if your keeping track)
After our meeting I told him I'd keep in touch... so today I decided to shoot an email over with a song attached to get his opinion. I sent over 'Half the Girl'. If you haven't heard it yet you can listen here...
http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/half-the-girl

DAY - 105

2011-12-05T18:21:00.001-08:00

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.

- William Jennings Bryan

What I am learning and what this blog adventure continues to teach me day in and day out is this...

I can't stand around and wait for things to happen. I have to MAKE them happen. I know this sounds cliche or like common sense, but saying it and doing it are two completely different things. 105 days ago I wasn't truly doing EVERYTHING I could to MAKE things happen. I am a religious person and I do believe in fate. At the same time I now, more than ever, realize that I can't sit around and say, "well, if its meant to be, its meant to be". That's a cop out. I'm learning more and more that I need to take the 'steering wheel of life' into my own hands and drive... kind of like the 'Incubus' song :)

Today I found a cool listing on MusicXRay and submitted. This is the listing on MusicXRay.com....

Looking for Pop Ballad or Uptempo songs for Young at heart. I have a duo that need great songs with harmonies.

DAY - 104

2011-12-03T13:54:00.001-08:00

This blog is for Yesterday 12/2/11:

Today I got started early with a 9am writing session with the 'Sweet Angeline' co-writers, Tyler and Liv. We started fleshing out some new ideas that we're planning on bringing to to J Fred Knobloch to co-write and develop further.

I also submitted to another Music X Ray listing. Although, I haven't heard back from the other three I submitted to over the past 2 weeks. Stay tuned.

Alright, time to get ready for my gig. If you happen to be near West Chester PA. I'll be playing a wine bar called Teca starting @ 10pm.

Until Monday... cheers!

DAY - 103

2011-12-01T10:33:00.001-08:00

"20/20" has officially been pitched to Darius Rucker! Just heard today from Jason Blume. (refer to last couple days) Got a foot in the door... now let's keep our fingers crossed and say a prayer they let us in :)
If you haven't heard "20/20" yet you can check it out here... http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/20-20

Also, just sent an email to J Fred Knobloch today to set up another session and talk about recording our new tune. After reviewing a ton of Darius Rucker's new material, I have a feeling this new tune would be an even stronger pitch to Darius than "20/20". We'll see if we can get it recorded in time.

Just read this little excerpt today from Bob Lefsetz newsletter and found it inspiring. I think its not only relatable to music, but really, any field or career path...

"When asked what her advice usually is to aspiring singers, she says it boils down to three words that she learned early on herself and have been her guide: You are enough.

'You are enough. You are always enough. You don't ever have to pretend to be anything other than what you are. All you have to do is deeply embrace who you are and you'll be fine,' she says.

'In life, aren't you drawn to the more authentic people? Of course. You're not drawn to phonies.'"

Barbara Cook

DAY - 102

2011-11-30T11:50:00.001-08:00

Heard back from ASCAP regarding Darius Rucker. (refer to day 100) Anna referred us to his McGhee Entertainment, which is Darius Rucker's management and she gave us the phone number. Today I called McGhee entertainment and inquired to see if Darius was in fact looking for songs and if he was accepting "outside material". (Outside material refers to songs that are written by other writers and not the artists themselves) Josh at McGhee Ent. confirmed that Darius IS looking for songs. I told Josh I wanted to submit a song but he said they're not accepting unsolicited material. (Unsolicited material refers to songs that are not represented by a major label or publisher) When I told him I had co-written the song with hit songwriter, Jason Blume he changed his tune :) He ended up giving me his email address which I then forwarded to Jason Blume so he can submit.

It once again proves that the music business is truly more about WHO you know than WHAT you know. I'm finding more and more that the potential success of this blog challenge of 'making it in 365' is directly connected to making friends and allies in the music biz. Doors that would have been closed 102 days ago are now beginning to open. I look forward and pray for the day that I can open any door because of who I am, not because of who I know. Cheers!

DAY - 101

2011-11-29T09:07:00.001-08:00

Today I emailed Jeremy Yohai from Downtown Music Publishing in NYC. Over the past week we've been emailing back and forth regarding my song"Caroline". (refer to day 97) When I emailed him last week he immediately wrote back letting me know that he thought the song was very high quality. After talking today, he let me know that if any opportunities come up in which he can pitch the song, he'll contact me about the pitch...Great news! Let's keep our fingers crossed something comes up!

Still waiting to hear back from ASCAP about Darius Rucker contact (refer to yesterday)

DAY - 100

2011-11-28T20:21:00.001-08:00

100 days down... 265 days to go! Wow, time seriously flies... especially when you're constantly on the move. I can honestly say, the past 100 days have been the most productive days in my career, so far. I intend to keep the momentum going stronger than ever.

That being said, today I emailed Anna and Ryan at ASCAP Nashville to try and find out the contact name of the person screening/looking for songs for Darius Rucker's new project (refer to last couple days). I'm hoping they may be able to direct me to the person or at least direct me to someone who may know the person. Either way, as long as I can do the leg work and get the contact, I know Jason Blume and J Fred Knobloch will be able to make the pitch. Stay tuned!

DAY - 99

2011-11-25T14:45:00.001-08:00

Hope you're getting your fill of T-Day leftovers. Nothing like a BIG turkey sandwich, a football game and a comfy couch to kick the weekend off right.

Today I heard back from Jason Blume. (refer to yesterday) He agreed that Darius Rucker would be a great pitch for '20/20'! Now we just have to find out the name of his A&R rep and we can let the pitching begin. Since everyone is off until Monday, not much can be accomplished this weekend but I'll try to do some research anyway. Stay tuned!

I also submitted 'Start of Something Good'to this listing on Youlicense.com ...

A three minute video of University grounds still shots for the Admissions dept. Music needs to be uplifting, not too fast or slow, preferably starting sparsely and building as it goes. Not overly emotional. Maybe strings. Medium driving pace.

If you haven't heard 'Start of Something Good' you can check it out here .... http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/start-of-something-good

DAY - 98

2011-11-23T11:06:00.001-08:00

Apparently tonight is the biggest bar night of year. Instead of joining in the festivities at my favorite local, my girlfriend, Susan and I will be trekking down to West Virginia ;) to spend Thanksgiving with her family. I'm actually REALLY excited about it! Looking forward to leaving the day-to-day craziness for an extended relaxing weekend getaway, filled with amazing food and great people.

Hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Today I was able to do some important research and found out that one of my favorite country singers Darius Rucker, is looking for songs! This is really ironic because I just mentioned the other day (refer to day 95) that Fred Knobloch and I had a song that would be a perfect pitch for him. So first I emailed Fred and let him know that we need to give the demo process a swift kick in the ass, git 'r done, and pitch it! Then, I emailed Jason Blume because I also think our song "20/20" would be a great pitch. So let's keep our fingers crossed.

Cheers!

DAY - 97

2011-11-23T09:08:00.001-08:00

Tuesday's Blog 11/22/11:

Today I emailed Jeremy Yohai from Downtown Music Publishing in NYC. (I've mentioned Jeremy's name over the past 97 days a bunch of times) I contacted him today because I wanted to forward him a song called "Caroline" to inquire about his opinion of the song's pitching potential. Although "Caroline" was released in 2008, I've always had a personal affinity towards the tune and still think it has a lot of potential. So...I wanted to get a professional publisher's opinion.

DAY - 96

2011-11-21T14:17:00.001-08:00

A songwriter's supreme challenge is being complex and simple at the same time.

- Paul Simon

I read this and found it to be exactly how I feel! Somehow Paul Simon seemed to have mastered this.

Anyway now to the task at hand....
Today I forwarded 2 songs to HD Music Now, a private publishing company / Film and TV licensing firm in LA. (forwarded both"Caroline" and "Half the Girl") I'm gearing my pitching of these 2 songs towards the TV and Film market and HD Music Now seems to have a nice independent presence in that market. We'll see what they think.

DAY - 95

2011-11-19T14:34:00.001-08:00

Apologies for the delay on this blog. Lol...feel like apologized a bunch this week. What can I say, its been a super hectic couple of days! This weekend I will be doing the usual and researching more people to contact for the upcoming week.

Yesterday, I called J Fred Knobloch to discuss pitching options for our new song. It just hit me yesterday that the song would be a perfect pitch for Darius Rucker! (the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish who now has made an incredible comeback career in Country music) Fred agreed, so now all we have to do is get a demo done.

DAY - 94

2011-11-17T10:52:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the brevity of this blog, but I'm running around like crazy today! I went on Music X Ray and submitted '20/20' to this listing...

Seeking Great Pop, Rock & Country Talent for Arthouse Entertainment
Arthouse Entertainment is seeking great songwriters and performers in the Pop, Rock and Country genres. We want to hear fresh sounds that will grab our attention. If you have great songs or are a great performer, please submit music to us. If we love it, we'll be in touch.
Please do not contact us outside of Music Xray. We handle unsolicited submissions here.
Arthouse Entertainment is co-owned by Kara DioGuardi and is a unique and diverse publishing company, music label and talent development enterprise that seeks....

DAY - 93

2011-11-17T10:44:00.001-08:00

Sorry for delay...yesterday was big day!

Kicked off early @ 10am, I attended a workshop at University of the Arts in Philadelphia. The speaker was Paul Adkins (nationally renown opera singer) His workshop was absolutely inspiring to say the LEAST and his performances were breath-taking. As soon as the workshop ended, around 12pm, I was straight off to do some writing. I did a 3-person skype session with Liv Devine and Gene Micofsky. We had a GREAT session and almost have the new song finished. Can't wait for you to hear this one!

After that I submitted my song 'Half the Girl' to this listing on Music X Ray...

BMG Expanding roster of artists
Please submit your music for consideration to be added to our roster of artists. We are seeking all genres from artists all over the world. We proudly support top artists such as Will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas), Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Gossip, Nena, David Garrett, White Lies, Peter Fox, Marlon Roudette (Mattafix), Scorpions, The Wanted, La Roux, Duran Duran, Carly Simon, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Hurts, The Script, Skindred, IAMX, Abd Al Mailik, Lucio Dalla, Dinero...

DAY - 92

2011-11-15T19:27:00.001-08:00

Kicked off the day right with a writing session with Nashville hit songwriter, J Fred Knobloch. Fred and I finished the song we've been working on and we're planning a demo. I'm really excited about how the song turned out. Can't wait...stay tuned!

BIG thank you to Matt McCormick for referring me to today's contact!

Thank you to Matt, today I contacted Alix Constant. Alix is a producer and has ties to labels and music industry reps. I sent an email to Alix introducing myself and letting him know what I'm trying to accomplish. If there is anyway we can collaborate to make things happen, I'm interested! We'll see where it leads...

*NOTE* If YOU have a contact you think I should connect with, let me know!!! I need to make as many connections as possible and I'm only on DAY - 92. You can help me make the connection that leads to a deal! email me... mynameisaugust@yahoo.com

DAY - 91

2011-11-14T18:28:00.001-08:00

I already heard back from hit producer Stuart Epps! (Refer to yesterday) Via Music X Ray, this is what he said...

hi there

nice song and well sung good recording and well put together demo this is ready to go send to a record company and try and get a release could hear this on the radio. youve done well here

Today I wrote him back after reviewing his website. He says on his site that, if he likes your stuff, he can help with making major label and publisher introductions. Well, seeing that he really digs 'Caroline', I wrote him an email and politely asked if he might be interested in helping me establish some publishing connections. Figured it can't hurt to ask :)

DAY - 90

2011-11-12T11:26:00.001-08:00

Apologies for the lateness of this blog...this is for yesterday, 11/11/11 (wow I forgot to make a wish)

Super busy day for music. Kicked off with songwriting session with Tyler James. We started working on some new song ideas for Tyler's forthcoming solo album. Got some pretty cool ideas down, melodies and such, but nothing to write home about yet.

After the writing session I had a chance to submit to listing on Music X Ray...this is what it said...

Legendary producer Stuart Epps is offering a song critique/career coaching that could lead to a production deal! Take advantage of this opportunity to get your music in front of a seasoned professional who can help. Some of Epps' most noteworthy clients have included Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Chris Rea, George Harrison, Mick Fleetwood, Barry White, George Michael, Mark Owen, Cliff Richard, Twisted Sister, Brian Adams, Oasis, Kiki Dee, Robbie Williams, Bill Wyman and of course Elton John.

I decided to submit my song "Caroline"... http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/caroline

Then it was off to a gig. (I played a beautiful cocktail hour for a wedding) I think I've decided that cocktail hours are my favorite gigs. (cover song gigs, that is) If I HAVE to play cover songs, the best place to do it is in a beautiful, relaxed environment and ONLY for an hour... usually 6pm-7pm. In and out! So if you're getting married, let me know, I'll play your cocktail hour :)

Today: 11/12/2011

Tyler James and I are forming a game plan to demo a song we wrote about 4 months ago. Its a upbeat dance/pop song called "Get U On The Floor". We discussed approaching a well-established philly producer named, Dilemma to produce the song with us. Keep you posted on how it turns out!

DAY - 89

2011-11-10T09:40:00.001-08:00

When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt.

- Henry J. Kaiser

I came across this quote today and found it to be helpful for me. I noticed that one of my first instincts when I'm pitching a song or even writing a song is to 'sell' or convince the other person of why its a good idea or a strong song. I just realized today that great music or a great song speaks for itself...especially when the 'right' person is listening. No amount of convincing can make it better... or worse.

In light of this, I emailed Alex Torrez today from Torrez Music group. I found out he was looking for songs to pitch to Tim McGraw so I sent him "20/20" (the new song the Sweet Angeline team wrote and recorded with hit songwriter, Jason Blume) check it out... www.sweetangelinemusic.com

I think it would be a great pitch for Tim McGraw assuming he'll be going more in the direction of his current hit "Felt Good On My Lips"...but... then again, I'll let the work speak for itself :)

DAY - 88

2011-11-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

Loonnnggg day. Started out early with a Skype writing session with Liv Devine and Gene Micofsky. We got pretty far on the new country rocker we've been writing....sounding pretty bad ass!

Today I went on a TV and Film pitching kick...

First, I emailed Jody Friedman from HD Music Now (Jody owns a music licensing company in LA that pitches songs for TV and Film) I sent him the new song, 'Mix CDs & Memories' http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/mix-cds-memories to see if he thinks it would be a strong pitch for his clients.

I also submitted to a listing on MusicXray today posted by Fuel TV. Here's what it said...

Fuel TV
Fuel TV is constantly seeking music that is thematic to action sports or that would sync well to highlight reels and action sports montages.

I submitted a song called 'A Higher Place' check it out... http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/a-higher-place

Now its time to chill out and catch the CMAs... cheers!

DAY - 87

2011-11-08T18:49:00.000-08:00

Doing a Skype writing session as we speak with hit songwriter J Fred Knobloch. We're working on a song that sounds very Zac Brown Band ish. Really digging where its going. More to come...

DAY - 86

2011-11-07T11:54:00.000-08:00

Just released a brand new single today! Listen and download it for free ONLY today!

http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/mix-cds-memories

The song is called 'Mix CDs & Memories'. Its a pissed off, sarcastic, but tongue and cheek break-up song with a very happy approach (if that's even possible) .... very Bare Naked Ladies inspired. Just listen, you'll know what I mean. :) Hope you enjoy...

Huge thanks to Chris Zurzolo for co-producing and for the fantastic mixing job. Also, a big thank you to Eric Schwank for the beautiful mandolin playing and background vocals.

Other thanks and credits go to Bill Grillo - Percussion and Ralph Deal - Bass

Cheers!

DAY - 85

2011-11-05T15:24:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the lateness of this blog...this covers yesterday (11/4/2011) As usual I will be doing research this weekend on more contacts to approach this week. Stay tuned!

Today I got together with my 'Sweet Angeline' co-writers Tyler and Liv. Unfortunately, we didn't have the most creative day hah. I guess the songwriting muse checked out for the day. However, we did come up with some cool ideas for future sessions...

I just got an email from Music X Ray that said they're going to be featuring my music on their site as well as all of their social networking sites. I emailed back to let them know that was totally cool! Here's what they said...

Hi!

Congratulations on being one of the favorite artists selected by our staff this week!

DAY - 84

2011-11-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

Today I entered the 'Intel Superstars Competition'. Check it out...

http://www.ourstage.com/go/prizelist2011?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Intel+Is+Searching+For+A+Superstar&utm_campaign=11-3-2011-IntelSuperstars-Enter&utm_term=prize+package

I entered a song I wrote a long time ago called 'Caroline'. If you haven't heard it you can listen here...
http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/caroline

Grand prize for this competition is over $35,000 in prizes, including $10,000 cash... would be nice :)

DAY - 83

2011-11-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

Great day for music! Recorded a vocal and started a brand new song idea with 'Sweet Angeline' co-writer Liv Devine and the musical director/lead guitarist of her band, Gene Micofsky. Gene is actually living out in LA, but he sent over a kick ass guitar riff idea via email. The riff was so catchy we had to start sketching out ideas. Definitely psyched about this one! Think we'll get a skype session happening next week :)

NYC music publisher Jeremy Yohai got back to me today. (refer to yesterday) He thought the song was really good! I just wrote him back. I let him know that we were originally going for a Rascal Flatts pitch, but I was wondering if he knew of any artists/groups that he thinks the song would be a good pitch for. I'm thinking that if he's really diggin the tune he might want to jump on board and help us pitch it...or in other words...stand in as my publisher. Jeremy is a young, creative and super smart publisher. He's the type of guy I would definitely love to work with.

Cheers!

DAY - 82

2011-11-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

Hope you had a great Halloween! It didn't really feel like Halloween for me...I guess because it was a random Monday night...or maybe because I didn't dress up this year. Anyway, lets get down to business...

Just emailed both Lisa Johnson from 'Razor and Tie Music Publishing' and Jeremy Yohai from 'Downtown Music Publishing'... both top music publishing companies in NYC. I had previously made contact with both Lisa and Jeremy a little while back and I wanted to say hi, stay in touch and show them what I've been working on. I sent them the demo of the new song '20/20' to see what they think. In the back of my head, I'm hoping to start a buzz among publishers and slowly start turning people on to what I'm doing. We'll see if it works :)

DAY - 81

2011-10-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

So speaking of rejection... Keith Urban's A&R person at Capitol Records decided to pass on '20/20'. She said, "...I just don't think the song is right for Keith." I was definitely bummed when I got the email, but I realized that you can't win 'em all. Just have to keep on pitching until something sticks...or...hits :) Speaking of pitching, I just found out that country star, Dierks Bentley is looking for songs for a new record so he looks like a good pitch. I emailed Jason Blume to let him know, but I'm sure he's already on top of it.

I also emailed Fred Knobloch to set up a time to finish the song we've been working on. Haven't heard anything about the Kellie Pickler pitch, but still keeping my fingers crossed.

DAY - 80

2011-10-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday. Even though I'm getting older and life is moving faster than I want it to, I still enjoy birthdays. Its like getting a chance to start fresh... to see what the next year has in store. Every birthday, I make a pledge to myself that "this year will be the year..." (fill in the rest) Well, I have to admit, I feel particularly confident and excited about this upcoming year. Instead of 'seeing what this year has in store for me' I'm planning to show this year what I have in store for it! Failures/setbacks may come along the way, but I plan to embrace them with a new sense of determination. I intend to move right through them without even stopping to look back. The wheels are turning, the momentum is building...let's make some unforgettable music. Stay tuned!

Today I emailed Ryan Beuschel (the rep from ASCAP) thanking him for his time and sent him the demo of '20/20'. Ryan was a really cool guy and very knowledgable... I would like to try and keep this connection and help it grow.

DAY - 79

2011-10-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

Check out the new song the Sweet Angeline team wrote with hit songwriter, Jason Blume. Its a country/pop/rock song pitch called '20/20' www.sweetangelinemusic.com

Written by Jason Blume, Liv Devine, Tyler James, Michael August
*Featuring Paul Scott on lead vocals*

Just got an email from Jason Blume letting me know that '20/20' is officially in the hands of Keith Urban's A&R rep at Capitol Records. Lets say a prayer and keep our fingers crossed!!!

DAY -78

2011-10-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

My apologies for getting behind on the blog. Haven't had internet access until today...so let's get caught up....

Tuesday was an incredible day at the recording studio in Nashville. We met Jason Blume at 10:15am, chatted a bit, went into the studio, fastened our seat belts, and came out with a FULLY mixed and mastered (finished) song by 6pm. It was a whirlwind experience which was guided by the best of best musicians and audio engineers in Nashville! I'll be posting the song tonight for your listening pleasure :)

After the studio, we went out for some dinner and drinks again with our friend and songwriter J Fred Knobloch. Incredible day...can't wait for you all to hear the song!!

DAY - 77

2011-10-26T06:32:00.000-07:00

First day in Nashville...sorry for the delay in this blog, just had to gather all my thoughts and write with a clear head...

The 'Sweet Angeline' team (Tyler James, Liv Devine and I) flew in 10am yesterday morning. Then it was off to a full day of networking! Here's the run down...

2pm: Meeting with Ryan Beuschel at ASCAP (a 27 year old industry guy with a bigger office than my apartment) We talked a bit, played a few songs, got some advice and critiques and were on our way...

3pm: Straight to our old friend Captain Jack. Liv met the Captain back in New Jersey about a year ago and kept up the connection. Captain Jack owns a super successful internet radio station in Nashville that has over 200,000 listeners. He plays Liv Devine Band's music all the time and also had Liv and Sweet Angeline on the show live back in August. Great guy!

5pm: Had dinner with Jason Blume. We ate at one of the most unassuming resturants in Nashville. It could only be described as a perfect fit for the show "Diners, Drives and Dives" on Food Network. Hole in the wall type of place with down-home southern cooking still made by Grandma. It turned out to be an awesome time! Jason was so cool to hang with on a personal level.

8pm: We ended up meeting J Fred Knobloch out for drinks at a bar called the Gold Rush. It was an awesome hang. Fred is such a cool guy and seriously hilarious! Made plans to hang again tonight.

Alright...its 9:40am Nashville time, chilling in Starbucks (of course) and getting ready to go to the studio to record the demo.

DAY - 76

2011-10-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

The road to success is always under construction.

- Anton Figg

Rejection is one of those big bumps in the road...

Unfortunately, I did not win the Texas Songwriters cruise competition. So close but so far away. I was a finalist in both Rock and Country but didn't pull off the grand prize :( Congrats to the winner!...check it out... http://www.txsongwriterscruise.com/

Also, My song 'Love Takes Work' was rejected from being pitched to Keith Urban. "Not quite what we're seeking." was the automated response. (refer to Day 74) Maybe your not seeking the right thing!! Haha JK :) I completely understand though. Music is a subjective business. Just because I think a song would be absolutely perfect for a certain artist doesn't mean someone or anyone else will think the same thing. This case in point.

I heard back from Debi Champion at Commodore Grille. (refer to yesterday) She let us know that Tuesday writer's night is already booked but we're welcome to play the open mic night again. I emailed her, thanking her for her time and let her know we might see her on Tuesday night.

Anyway, Its a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I'm leaving for music city (Nashville, TN) tomorrow morning! Everything is planned and in order. (Refer to last week) I will be keeping a detailed account the next couple days so stay tuned and wish me luck. Cheers!

DAY - 75

2011-10-21T17:02:00.000-07:00

Met with my 'Sweet Angeline' co-writers this morning, Tyler James and Liv Devine, to rehearse some songs and work out some last minute details before our Nashville trip.

We're planning on performing at one of the writer's nights on either Monday or Tuesday night. Back in August, we played an open mic night at a place called the Commodore Grille. The host of the evening, Debi Champion, really enjoyed our songs and gave us her card. She told us to contact her before we come back and she would book us on a full writer's night. Just sent her an email today letting her know we'll be in town and we're interested in playing on Tuesday night. Second only to Blue Bird Cafe, Commodore Grille is a super popular venue for writers and performers alike. Securing a writer's night here will definitely help us make more contacts while we're in town.

Hope you have a great Friday night...Cheers!

DAY - 74

2011-10-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

TMG is listening for hit songs to pitch to Keith Urban and his camp. Please send only your best! All tempos.

This is a new listing I just found on MusicXray.com and submitted to today! I submitted a song called "Love Takes Work" check it out... http://mynameisaugust.bandcamp.com/track/love-takes-work-demo

We'll see if they like it...

DAY - 73

2011-10-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

- Henry David Thoreau

Found that comforting today...

Anyway, spoke with Ryan Beuschel from ASCAP today (Refer to Day 72) and we are officially set for a meeting on Monday Oct. 24th at 2pm. Great news!

Monday is shaping up to be a good day. Flying into Nashville by 10am, meeting with Ryan at 2pm, and having dinner with Jason Blume at 5pm...now we just have to find a place to perform on Monday night!

DAY - 72

2011-10-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

Great day for music! Woke up early for a Skype writing session with J Fred Knobloch. (Nashville hit Songwriter) We made some killer edits to the new song we've been writing. Its shaping up to be a beautifully upbeat and fun tune that just makes you smile. I think one more session and we'll be ready to figure out demoing details!

Fred also let me know that his meeting with Jim Catino got delayed, but Jim will be previewing 'Cupcakes & Wine' this week! (Refer to last couple days)

Finally! Someone from ASCAP got back to me. (refer to Day 68) A rep by the name of Ryan Beuschel. He emailed me today and I emailed back looking to schedule a meeting for Monday Oct. 24th. Getting my face and ultimately my music in front of these ASCAP reps can be a HUGE help with making songwriting, publishing, and label connections. If they like what they hear and believe in your ability, ASCAP reps and publishers really have the power to open doors that are usually locked tight!

DAY - 71

2011-10-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

So today is the day that J Fred Knobloch is pitching 'Cupcakes & Wine' to Jim Catino, Vice Pres. of A&R at Sony Records. (refer to Day-65) I've been walking around all day with butterflies... excited, nervous and anxious. This is my first major song pitch. The chances are slim to get a cut on any major album... especially someone like Kellie Pickler. Even if the song gets rejected, its still an accomplishment in itself to finally have a song placed in front of the 'right' people. I'm not gonna lie though, I'm praying for a win! Keep your fingers crossed.

I have a song writing session via skype with Fred tomorrow so I'll find out all the details. Stay tuned!

DAY - 70

2011-10-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Did some research on a new label called DigSin. They are a singles label, which means their main focus is on promoting, selling and distributing single songs. I was considering sending over a song for consideration, but I want to find out more about the company and its credibility. It was founded by Jay Frank, who has written a very success book called FutureHit.DNA...but that's all I know so far.

DAY - 69

2011-10-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!

Alright so I finally got a hold of someone at ASCAP Nashville. Her name is Ana, and basically, she is the gatekeeper. She gave me her email address and told me to email her with some links to my music. She said she would forward the email on to all the publisher reps to see if we can schedule a meeting. (this was pretty much the same story last time)

Hopefully we'll get a meeting this time!

DAY - 68

2011-10-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

Hard time getting out of bed this morning, something about consistent rainy weather that makes me want to sleep. So you'll find its no surprise I am in Starbucks right now, getting my caffeine fix for the day.

So far today I scheduled a writing session with J Fred Knobloch for next Tuesday. We're going to shoot to tie up the loose ends on the new tune we've been writing.

As I'm typing, I've been on the phone with ASCAP publishing in Nashville trying to schedule a meet and greet with a publisher for Monday, October 24th. Last time I was in Nashville my team and I had no luck with getting 'one on one face time' with an ASCAP publisher. Hopefully (now that I can throw around a few names) we'll have more success this time around. We shall see!

ASCAP is a performing rights society or PRS. Basically a HUGE publishing company with gate keys to the entire music industry. They also do all the royalty tracking for songs played on TV, film and radio and make sure everyone gets paid accordingly.

DAY - 67

2011-10-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

Spent all morning recording some demos with the 'Sweet Angeline' team. www.sweetangelinemusic.com We've started planning our little two day adventure to Nashville. Gonna try to make the most out of these days... networking, performing, recording, shmoozing...etc. I sent some emails out today to Barbara Cloyd from Bluebird Cafe, J Fred Knobloch, and some other contacts we made while we were in town back in August.

Also, Finished up some stuff with Jason Blume today through email. Unfortunately, just found out that Rascal Flatts is 100% done recording they're next album. Why is this unfortunate, you ask? Well, because the song we're going to be recording in Nashville in 2 weeks was meant to be a pitch to Rascal Flatts for their forthcoming album. Looks like bad timing :( But hey, if its meant to be....

DAY - 66

2011-10-11T20:41:00.001-07:00

You are a finalist! You are a finalist again!? Amazing news in the form of a phone call from Texas...

I just received word that I'm a finalist in the Texas Songwriters Cruise song contest. (refer to Day - 42)

I got a phone call from Lealean Peace, (founder of the song cruise) that my song 'Half the Girl' was chosen as a finalist in the Rock/Alternative category...then...2 minutes later, I got another call from Lealean letting me know that, 'Cupcakes & Wine' was chosen as a finalist in the Country category. He actually said, I'm the only person to have 2 songs chosen as finalists in 2 different categories!! This means that both songs will be entered to potentially win the grand prize....http://www.txsongwriterscruise.com/default.asp?p=song-contest (basically, I'll win a free cruise and a free ticket to all the workshops and the chance to network with some of the top people in the industry)

Lealean told me he really loves the tunes and to call him anytime for questions or anything. I am freakin' out man. Great Day!

DAY - 65

2011-10-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

I got an exciting piece of news today, heres the story...

So about 2 weeks ago..(refer to Day-52) After finding out that country sweetheart, Kellie Pickler, was looking for songs for her next album, I called Nashville hit songwriter and now a co-writer of mine,
J Fred Knobloch on the chance that he may have a connection to her 'people'. (I 've co-written a song with my country side project, Sweet Angeline, called "Cupcakes and Wine" and I think it would be a smash for Kellie) Anyway, Fred said that he'd make some calls...

Well today, I got an email from Fred letting me know that he will be playing "Cupcakes & Wine" for Jim Catino (Sony Records VP of A&R!!!) in consideration for Kellie's new record. This is amazing news! Even if Jim doesn't like it for Kellie, there may be a chance he'll like it in general and possibly for someone else. Just having your song pitched to the right people is more than half the battle sometimes! HUGE thanks to Fred! Lets keep our fingers crossed and say a little prayer :)

DAY - 64

2011-10-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

Today I was able to thoroughly read through the publishing contracts I received (refer to day 53) I had a couple questions and concerns with the single-song publishing deal for 'Cupcakes & Wine' so I emailed HD Music Now to voice those concerns.

Also, remember when I said that all deals aren't right? Well, I decided the Studio 51 Publishing deal was not right for me. In the music business, there are so many different paths you can take...sometimes half the battle is staying focused and knowing what you really want. I am on the road to, not only a publishing deal, but a 'songwriting' deal/recording contract, and all my efforts need to remain focused on this road.

DAY - 63

2011-10-09T08:16:00.000-07:00

Alright, the rough vocal/guitar demo is done and sent off to the studio, demo singer and musicians. Speaking of musicians, the line up of musicians that Jason Blume has secured so far to record this demo is seriously a who's who of country studio/touring musicians...check it out...

Electric Guitar: Troy Lancaster (Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, Ronnie Dunn, Martina, Sara Evans, Rodney Atkins, Justin Moore ...)

Piano: Steve Nathan (Rascal Flatts, George Strait, Reba, Toby K, Sara, Martin, Jake Owen ...)

Steel (or lap steel or dobro): Scotty Sanders (Alan Jackson, Trace Adkins ...)

Acoustic Guitar: Larry (Rascal Flatts, Randy Travis, Brooks & Dunn, Faith Hill ...)

So excited!

DAY - 62

2011-10-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the delay on this blog post. Spent all day recording a rough demo track that the studio musicians and country demo singer will use to learn the song for our Nashville demo session. Still going back and forth with Jason Blume, making final tweaks and edits, assuring that everything is exactly how we want it. We secured a pretty bad-ass demo singer! His name is Paul Scott, check him out www.paulscottmusic.com I think he'll nail the sound we're going for! More to come soon...

DAY - 61

2011-10-06T19:30:00.000-07:00

Flight is booked...Nashvegas here I come! (refer to past couple days)

Another day of planning, handling details and getting things set up. Everything is good to go with the studio time and musicians. We fly in on Monday morning Oct. 24th and have the whole day to get settled, do some networking, and possibly even perform. Tonight I started doing some research, looking into things we can do on Monday for networking/performing. More to come on that.

In other news, I received a short email back from Marcus Peterzell (refer to Day 58) I was appreciative that he got back to me. He offered a couple names of music publishers in New York that I will be checking into. I sent an email thanking him for his time.