Dear IFS Readers,

I hope this email finds you well.

first in the last IFS I HINTED
You'll find some SINGER Searching FOR SONGS LEADS in this issue

AND hardly anyone posted a note to those artists and
told them where they could go hear your songs.

What's new with your songwriting?
Here's a few in mine

Carmine D'Amico is a new member on the jpfolks board

My name is ,studio, jazz, rock, funk, R&B, Guitarist, holder of 16
Grammy Awards for my guitar, mandolin playing on hit cd's. I am
presently finishing off Mariah Carey's new cd. My Official Website is
http://www.carminedamico.com
This is my first time here at JPF'S forum.I hope to talk to other
guitarists, and fellow musicians. I am looking forward to it,

Carmine D'Amico
http://www.carminedamico.com
http://www.cdbaby.com/cde
he started this thread.
http://www.justplainfolks.org/ubb/Forum2/HTML/004243.html

he dropped by my site and listened to a few tunes and wrote the
following
at another jpf thread
http://www.justplainfolks.org/ubb/Forum2/HTML/004291.html

posted 07-31-2005 02:33

Dear Andre Rasmussen.

Are you sure you live in Texas?Andre , your music is Spectacular,
Unique, and Exceptional, just for starters. Let's start:

"We ran Out of Time" Incredible lyrics, very moving, ultra touching,
brilliant production. Vocals were Classical/Modern, and Unique. I was
enthralled by this Modern Operatic performance. I listened to it
three times. I could not get enough of the message. It was BEAUTIFUL.
Where did you study compostion? Not in Texas or where? The pianist,
solo violin, playing contrapuntal lines was Gorgeous. Both enhanced
the vocalists performance. Who ever he is Thank him for me. When I
read you short bio, I did not expect Perfection, but there it was,
waiting to be heard.

Then: I listened to your song "Eventually". Here there was a change
in gears. The song was sung by a new vocalist in a modern, bordering
on Lite Rock/Country, yet much more sophisticated than then the
average County/Rock songs I am used to hearing. Great lyrics, vocals,
production, with that classical guitar solo(short, yet sweet) Andre
you are truly Excellent. I loved the words (lyrics),as well as the
performance.

"Forever will Never be Long Enough": Beautiful two guitars opening(at
first I thought it was an instrumental), then a new vocalist enters.
Touching, moving, soulful. GREAT MUSIC. This song impressed on me
that your lyrical skills transcend genres. All I can say is
Phenomenal, Gorgeous, Real Music. I bookmarked your page to listen to
even more.
Question; if you wrote the lyrics, who composed the melodies?
Or, did you do both?

My only suggestion is to get off of soundclick, and join cdbaby,
where your Exceptional Music will be Appreciated. Stay away from
distribution sites that are not for professionals, unless you are
into rap, hip hop, which I have grown to appreciate.. Be aware,
people can download your songs while streaming in play mode. SC in
not your venue, and it's dangerous because you present entire songs,
not clips. Post me back, and email me at carmine@...

Sincerly,
Carmine D'Amico
http://www.carminedamico.com
choose Gallery,Music,and rolling bill board etc.

THEN THIS EMAIL ARRIVED

Ande, this is "dukewill" from JPF forum.

I listened to "We Ran Out Of Time" on your Songramp page. I am just
stunned. That is breathtaking. I cannot believe that vocal by Dave
Brooks. Sheesh, I'm speechless.

Anything happened with that song?
Are the lyrics posted anywhere?

Thanks,
Bill

There's a few independent artists who've asked to try out and record
some songs I've cowritten. This email arrived from an artist in
Pennsylvania.

"I absolutely love your music. Im going to Pittsburgh to see Kenny
Chesney this weekend, but when I get back I definitely want to talk
more with you and I hoping maybe we can work out a deal so I can
record my own version of some of these songs. True gold, and ive
heard the best and worst from songwriters. Your ideas are just simply
at the top. Thanks for directing me to your music."

One of my cowriters went to Nashville and had a private consultation
with Jason Blume.
He wrote: "thanks again for mentioning that Jason was going to be
there in your newsletter.
It was a great experience with incredible feedback from Jason about
my songwriting- also feedback to specific songs including two that
wrote with you. I'll be following this email with MP3's attached
with his comments about the songs."

Then I got to hear Jason critique 2 of my songs.

I apologize to JOHN BRAHENY I received a blurb that he would be in
Austin on August 3 - 4 (Wed-Thu) and and was available for one-on-one
consultations/song critiques while he's here. His fee is $100 hr.
Beyond in-depth and expert feedback on your music, he can discuss the
commercial potential of your songs, submitting songs for TV and film,
and other marketing strategies. John consults songwriters at all
levels of development and all styles.

John was the co-founder/director (with Len Chandler) of the legendary
Los Angeles Songwriters Showcase (LASS) that for 25 years provided
industry contacts and education for thousands of songwriters. LASS
produced 22 songwriters Expos, two of them in Austin in the mid-'90s.
His book, "The Craft and Business of Songwriting", has sold over
65,000 copies and is considered the songwriting "bible." John is also
a consultant and screener for TAXI, the leading independent A&R
company. For more information on John, go to
www.johnbraheny.com

To set up an appointment e-mail him at john@... and
include your
phone# so he can call you about time and place.

~ ~ ~

so I hope you enjoy this IFS issue

Ande

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I dished out a little advice.
Recently an IFS reader sent me an email asking me to run a blurb
about her songramp site and here's what I wrote:

Hello,

I received your email
sometimes I do a feature in IFS called let the word know LTWK
Your blurb would be appropriate then

until then I suggest you get active on songramp.com and other sites
that host mp3's and allow reviews

On SongRamp
look for people who are getting lots of reviews
drop by and review their songs
review 2 or 3
then look for people who reviewed their songs and review 2 or 3
theirs too

keep in mind songramp reviews aren't critiques
people aren't going to roll up their sleeves and get into the nitty
gritty

for starters
try peer lyric and mp3 critiques on
www.jpfolks.org

http://www.justplainfolks.org/cgi-bin/forumdisplay.cgi?
action=topics&forum=MP3+Feedback+Forum&number=21

www.musesmuse.com

www.letstalkmusic.com

www.tunesmith.net

there's other communities

when you invite people to critique your songs

don't write or post:

hey there
please drop by and critique my songs
Me
Mylink

You're not likely to get a good response.

DO
critique 5 to 7 other songs for every one song you ask to be
critiqued
only ask for one song critique at a time
only ask for one song a week

If you want honest hard hitting critiques, get your songs critiqued
by professional songwriters. Just prepare yourself for a no holds
barred evaluation of your song. The following folks provide pro
critiques:

http://www.jasonblume.com

kim copeland
http://www.songwritersconnection.com/page3.html

http://www.taxi.com

NSAI
http://www.nashvillesongwriters.com/

I encourage you to become a member of the online songwriting
community
join and attend your local songwriting organization

good luck
let me know how it goes

Ande

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Call For Submissions

We are currently accepting song submissions for a new production
titled "American Experience."

We are looking for all styles of songs to represent American life. We
are open to a variety of themes/topics for our production, therefore
we absolutely do not want to limit the content of songs to only the
following topics, but, to give you an idea, here are some examples of
topics that could fit: Moving on/moving away; materialism; change;
corporate growth; small town life; working hard; loss; gain; american
dream realized or lost; effects of a natural disaster i.e. tornado,
earthquake, fire; school; wealth; poverty; etc. etc. etc. Your song
may be about anything that you think reflects on American life in a
general way.

We are in the planning and development stage of the production.
Finding songs is a part of the development. For this production, we
plan to accept 8-10 songs which will be threaded together with dance,
additional music, text, film and photography. Songs will not only be
chosen for their quality, but also for how well they help us to tell
our story.

All submissions are welcome - we will accept songs from professionals
and amateurs alike. You must be the owner of the copyright for your
song and be able to give us non-exclusive performing rights (non-
exclusive, meaning we do not have to be the only people allowed to
perform this song - you will be free to shop your work to anyone else
you wish, but we need to have the right to perform the song).
Authors of selected submissions will receive a one-time payment that
allows us to perform the song in conjunction with this particular
production. You will receive writer's credit and a short bio (if
desired) in the program, and you may also be given credit with a link
on our website.

All selected songs will be performed live. Submissions may be in the
form of an audio recording, but you must be able to provide sheet
music if selected - lyrics and chord symbols will be acceptable.
Please submit songs on a standard audio CD or cassette tape, as a
recording helps us understand your style of the song, but submissions
without an accompanying recording will also be considered.
All submissions should be mailed to:

Arts United of Washington
508 25th Place NE
Office B
Washington, DC 20002

Please include a current email and/or telephone number so we may
contact you, and a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you want your
submission returned to you. We look forward to hearing your songs!

Questions?
Email Arts United:
info@...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

---------------------------------
Priceless Guitar Stolen!
---------------------------------

On either Sunday night or early Monday morning, July 17 or 18, the
Heart of Texas Country Music Museum at 1701 South Bridge Street in
Brady was burglarized. A guitar was stolen. The guitar is a Fender
electric pearl colored guitar with a crushed white pick guard.

The guitar was owned by the late Dave Kirby who played sessions with
Dolly Parton, Waylon, Willie, Ringo Starr and hundreds of other
entertainers. He also wrote "Is Anybody Going To San Antone?" and
was born in Brady. This guitar is very important to us.

I am not 100% certain about the serial numbers. When the guitar was
donated to us, we took it out of the case. In the case were two
Fender slips with two seperate serial numbers. I would think that
one of those numbers belonged to the guitar. The numbers were

N7253149 and N7259125

There were also two part numbers:

107202-844 and 107202-809

If you could pass this around to anyone it would be appreciated. We
feel that it will probably be sold or pawned. We have a few leads
that it may be in the Abilene, Brownwood, Fredericksburg or Marble
Falls area.

Thanks,

Tracy Pitcox
Heart of Texas
Country Music Museum
www.hillbillyhits.com
Brady, Texas
(325) 456-5316
Email: hhfc1@...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

KOALA MUSIC AND LEE KWELLER ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE RELEASE OF A
NEW CD WHERE THE HEART IS, A COMPILATION OF 10 SONGS THAT INSPIRE
WRITTEN BY LEE KWELLER AND RECORDED BY VARIOUS ARTISTS IN DIFFERENT
GENRES.
http://www.cdbaby.com/leekweller

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Singers Searching for Songs

IFS READERS if you want to PITCH YOUR SONGS POST A NOTE!

here's you 3 leads of singers searching for songs
let them know that Ande Rasmussen from IFS let you know

MichaeloRyan
http://www.justplainfolks.org/ubb/Forum4/HTML/002082.html

Mikki
http://www.justplainfolks.org/ubb/Forum4/HTML/002091.html

tammygail
http://www.justplainfolks.org/ubb/Forum2/HTML/004283.html


Write on,

Ande Rasmussen
AndeRasmussen@...

http://songramp.com/ande
http://www.AndeRasmussen.com

512-217-2728 cell

835 Martindale Falls
Martindale, TX 78655

<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
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