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Inspirations For Songwriters (I F S)
IFS aims to INSPIRE YOU into ACTION
over 3,500 songwriters, music publishers, artists, and
music fans receive IFS
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DIFS/
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Please FORWARD IFS to your SONGWRITING friends

If you want to RECEIVE IFS or
If you want to CHANGE your email address
SEND an EMPTY email to

difs-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please Allow IFS slide past your SPAM FILTERS.

DID YOU KNOW THAT All IFS messages are archived on
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DIFS/messages

Once you're in the IFS archive, if you're looking for something in
Particular, you can do a key word search

Here's an easy way to find the IFS home page, type in:
www.SongwriterBlog.com or www.SongwritingBlog.com

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Dear IFS Friends,

I hope this email finds you well. Lot's of things are new with me.
There was some sort of change at yahoogroups. IFS now has 3,583
members. Thanks for hanging in there and I hope IFS benefits you.

I got an advanced copy of Abi Tapia's latest CD. It contains my
latest cut, both the cut and the CD are really great.
(more details below)

Kricket and I wrapped up the Old Number 9 scholarship opportunity.

Here's an interesting thread on just plain folks
Selling my own MP3 files and loving it!
http://www.justplainfolks.org/ubb/Forum2/HTML/003832.html

I did a little write up on a new artist Anna Nalick.
part of the lyrics in her new single are

"2 am and I'm still awake writing a song
If i get it all down on paper it's no longer inside of me threaten'
the life it belongs to.
And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary screamin' out aloud
And I know that you'll use them however you want to."
+ Anna Nalick

IFS readers, that's exactly what we've got to do. We must be brave
enough to write our inner most thoughts in our lyrics and share them
with our audiences. You'll find out more about her below.

Keep it up,

Ande

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Yesterday I opened my mail box to discover a manilla envelope
containing an advance copy of Abi Tapia's CD. I listened to it the
whole time I drove down to the beach and it's really awesome. Abi's
an excellent songwriter, vocalist and performer. I'm thrilled to
write that she I and cowrote her 9th track "Hand Over Your Heart." I
fell in love with Abi's talent and voice when I first heard her
recording of "Back to Back" on her website.
www.abitapia.com

Her new CD was produced by Chris Gage.
The following players played on Abi's "Hand over Your Heart"
recording.
Mike Hardwick on steel,
Paul Pearcy on Drums
Glenn Fukanaga on bass
Chris Gage on guitar
Abi Tapia on Vocals
the Ginn Sisters on back ground vocals

Abi dared to venture into new territory and included a few of her
country songs on the CD. She sounds like she's been singing in Texas
Honky tonks for years. But there's another side of Abi that reminds
me of Joan Armatrading and Tracy Chapman.
Abi's upcoming CD is really great and I look forward to listening to
it more and sharing her songs, talent, and spirit with my friends.

Abi also allowed her fans to preorder her CD and support her project
at different levels
http://abitapia.com/preorder.htm

Advanced CD sales might be a smart move for you when you're wondering
how you're going to pay for your upcoming CD project or gathering the
courage to commit.

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Here's the email I sent to the Old # 9 Steve Seskin Workshop
Scholarship Applicants.
The Old # 9 is still accepting attendees
For details drop by
www.oldno9.org

Dear Old # 9 Steve Seskin Workshop Scholarship Applicants,

Thank you for applying for the Old # 9 Steve Seskin Workshop
Scholarships
below is the blurb that you will find in IFS when I get around to
sending out the latest IFS issue. A few scholarship applicants were
only targeting the full scholarship and chose to pass on partial
scholarships. The songwriters listed are the ones who accepted the
scholarships and plan to attend the workshop. In the unlikely event
that the FULL scholarship recipient is unable to attend, the original
order will apply. Someone could get a last minute call, but it's very
unlikely.

Thanks to all who applied and Congratulations to the recipients.
The Old # 9 is a fabulous experience and Steve Seskin is an awesome
instructor.
A huge thank you to the Old # 9 for providing this incredible
opportunity and to the scholarship application reveiwers who read
each application, listened to each mp3 and made their determinations.

Ande Rasmussen
Editor and publisher of IFS

P.S. ALL scholarship applicants are invited to attend the following
OLD Number 9 Saturday Evening Events in Waring for FREE. Your name
will be on a list at the door. If you bring a guest you will need to
pay for your guest.

06:30 - 07:45 pm Desserts and Student Openers for the Concert
08:00 pm Steve Seskin in Concert at the Old No.9 Road House,
Rex Foster Opening
10:30 pm - until ?? Friends of the Old No.9 Campfire Jam

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Thanks to all who applied for Old # 9's Steve Seskin Workshop
Scholarships

Here's what the Old # 9 Workshop Scholarship Application Reviewers
decided

1. James Michael Taylor recieved the FULL scholarship
2. Kim Ilene McDaniel received the $200 scholarship
3. Terry Fann received the $150 scholarship
4. Adam Turner was first runner up
5. Jim Stevenson was second runner up

These scholarships are only available for the old #9 Steve Seskin
workshop
April 8 - 10, 2005, If any scholarship recipient is unable to attend,
the person immediately following them shifts into their above slot
and all the others below shift up a slot.

Partial scholarship recipients MUST pay the balance to attend the
workshop

ALL scholarship applicants are invited to attend the following OLD
Number 9 Saturday Evening Events in Waring for FREE. Your name will
be on a list at the door. If you bring a guest you will need to pay
for your guest.

06:30 - 07:45 pm Desserts and Student Openers for the Concert
08:00 pm Steve Seskin in Concert at the Old No.9 Road House,
Rex Foster Opening
10:30 pm - until ?? Friends of the Old No.9 Campfire Jam

Thank you to all who applied and
Congratulations to the recipients.

The Old # 9 is a fabulous experience and Steve Seskin is an awesome
instructor.
Thanks again to the Old # 9 for providing this incredible
opportunity.

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FILM LOOKING FOR GUITARIST

From: adam.davenport@...

Deville FIlms LLC is currently seeking a solo jazz/classic guitarist
for the soundtrack of the upcoming film MIDNIGHT SUN. Must be able
to
hand-pick extremely well. Music will be a point of departure from
the
work of Joe Pass and Gustavo Santaolalla.

MIDNIGHT SUN is a hard-hitting drama about a New England college
professor who leaves his wife one night to meet someone from an
internet chat room. The film is intended for Sundance 2007.

Please send all demos/music submissions to:

Deville Films LLC
36 High Street; Apt 102
New Haven, CT 06510

Solo artists only. No bands please! Visit www.devillefilms.com for
more information. MIDNIGHT SUN is a production of Deville Films LLC
in
association with Bulldog Productions and is produced by Colin Neville
and Christian H. Clark. Directed by Adam Davenport.

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Subject: Beth Nielsen Chapman workshop

On April 29th and 30th 2005, we are hosting The First Annual Beth
Nielsen Chapman Songwriting and Creativity Stargaze at Vanderbilt
Dyer Observatory in Nashville Tennessee-
http://bethnielsenchapman.com/scene/bnc_workshop_main.htm

This workshop will be truly unique. The location is remarkable. The
giant dome and telescope of Dyer are situated on the highest point
near Nashville and surrounded by beautiful hardwood forests. The
sessions are designed to get into the real meat of songwriting and
creativity. The instructors will be Beth, Paul Reisler, Julie
Portman, plus many other surprise drive-by hit songwriters. Beth and
other succesful writers will also share about the "Jungle of The
Music Business."

See descriptions of the workshop on the link above. The schedule is
here-
http://bethnielsenchapman.com/scene/bnc_schedule.htm

To see more about the Historic Dyer Observatory-
http://www.dyer.vanderbilt.edu/

To register, either download the form and mail, or register online at
Beth's site.

I hope to see you there.

Rocky Alvey
Superintendent of Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory

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Ever heard of Anna Nalick?

I first heard her new song, Breathe (2 AM) on Austin's 94.7 FM
It impressed me. So I dropped by her website to find out more about
her. I found out she signed with Columbia.

www.AnnaNalick.com

I think many of us can relate to the lyrics from her song Breathe

"2 am and I'm still awake writing a song
If i get it all down on paper it's no longer inside of me threaten'
the life it belongs to.
And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary screamin' out aloud
And I know that you'll use them however you want to."


Also I was really impressed with what some of her fans wrote about
Breathe on her message board.

I think this song is a blessing to everyone who hears it- every one
relates to it. As for me, I am about Anna's age and I have been
struggling for a long time, with myself, with relationships,
everything. I have never felt like I was good enough for someone else
in my entire life, and this song reassured me there was someone else
out there like me, who was lost too. When I heard this song, words
can't express how I felt. I felt like that was my soul out there,
that was me. I think that God does leave messages through people, and
this is one of them. Thank you for just making it a little bit easier.

Hi...
I just heard 'Breathe' for the first time... What can I say? It
prompted me to write and say that I haven't been hit by an emotion
from a song so strong since the early days of Throwing Muses...
Incredible song, looking forward to hearing others... Thanks!

nicoliorb posted 12 February 2005 10:54 AM
When I first heard breathe, I was debating suicide. I was in my car
driving home from my boyfriends house and we just had a really rough
time. I had told him how I was feeling, lonely, overwhelmed, and not
wanting to live anymore. His reaction didn't help any. He got angry
with me and told me that I needed to seek help. He started swearing
at me and told me to go to bed. I got up and walked out because I
knew if I stayed there I might actually go through with suicide
because he had made me even more upset. I heard "Breathe" on the
radio and it changed my mood completely. Her voice and and the music
just really touched me, and I realized my life isn't as bad as it
could be.

gurlnluifemagazine posted 12 February 2005 11:08 AM
I've been hearing this song a lot on the radio and I really got into
it. This is an increditable song and I can't wait to get her album. I
think this gurls got the brightest future ahead of her.


Here's a little bit about her from her bio and how she met with her
success.

Anna's original plan was to go to college and then follow her dream
of a career in music. As she began college, she continued writing and
documented her songs on a Rainbow Brite cassette tape recorder. She
soon met a photographer (who taught a class at a local high school)
who mentioned to Anna that one of her students had parents in the
music business. Anna passed along a six song lo-fi home demo and the
next thing she knew, that student's mother, a manager of producers
and other talent, introduced Anna to Christopher Thorn and Brad
Smith, the founding members of Blind Melon now turned production
team, and Eric Rosse, best known for his production work with Tori
Amos.

Suddenly, Anna Nalick was working on a master demo with some of the
very artists who'd helped inspire her in the beginning. "That was my
first experience in a professional studio," she says. "It was
amazing. I couldn't believe it was really happening. I loved having
my music fully realized! We immediately began to play the demo to a
select number of record companies and within about two weeks, I had
label interest." Anna Nalick signed with Columbia Records in October
2003. Putting her college plans on hold, Anna went into the studio
with Thorn, Smith and Rosse as producers, together with mix-engineer
Mark Endert (Fiona Apple, Maroon 5, Gavin DeGraw) and an all-star
group of musicians that included Smith on bass, Thorn on guitar,
Rosse and Zak Rae (Alanis Morissette, Macy Gray, Sinead O Connor) on
keyboards, Lyle Workman (Frank Black, Sheryl Crow, They Might Be
Giants) and Stuart Mathis (Jewel) on guitar, Joey Waronker (Beck,
Johnny Cash, Elliott Smith, Nelly Furtado) and Matt Chamberlain (Tori
Amos, Fiona Apple, David Bowie, John Mayer) on drums.

The result is Wreck of the Day, a collection of 11 songs matching
Anna's deeply resonant vocals with finely etched keyboard and guitar-
based settings. She touches on a lot of big things, in a personal and
engaging way, and invites the world to join her.

Anna will be on the Tonight Show in April

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From: Collectsalot@...

hi there,

i was wondering if you can put this in your next e-newsletter:

professional lyricist in new york city seeking collaborator.
seeking a pop, pop/r&B, and dance composers.
contact David @ songstrong@...

it would be most appreciative. i've been in new york for a short
time and
i am looking for collaborators.

Thank you so much!

David

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Write On,

Ande Rasmussen