Take YOUR Songwriting to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL
Drop by

http://www.SongU.com/ifs

Where you can:
+ PITCH your songs
+ Receive Professional critiques
+ Get Mentoring from industry pros
+ Network with talented songwriters at SongU and

TAKE a FREE songwriting course at
http://www.SongU.com/ifs

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Every songwriter should have a songwriting library
Drop by:
http://astore.amazon.com/ifsande-20
find what's missing from yours
I recommend books by Jason Blume and Sheila Davis

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many artists say the INDIE BIBLE
is a wonderful tool for independent artists
drop by
http://www.indiebible.com/swb
to check it out

The Folks at INDIE BIBLE just released a brand new directory called 
The Indie Venue Bible.

The Indie Venue Bible is a unique, comprehensive directory of live 
music venues. It is in electronic (.pdf) format and lists 26,000 
venues and 2000 booking agents in the US and Canada. The 
listings are arranged by area, making it easier for artists to 
route and plan their tour. 
check it out at:
https://nt4.magma.ca/bigmeteor/ivbaras_order.cfm

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dear IFS Readers,

I hope this email finds you well.
What's new with you and your songwriting?
Please write and let me know

I have several new songs in the works

Got a new cut
Blue Holiday is the 3rd track on Halie Loren and Matt Treder's
Christmas CD
Many Times, Many Ways - A Holiday Collection
you can hear a 2 minute clip at:
http://tinyurl.com/blueholidayhalie
http://cdbaby.com/cd/lorentreder/from/ande

been busy swimming
The Austin Paper ran an article about me yesterday
http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/12/19/121
9centex.html
went to Long Beach and Tempe for meets recently.

Met with Harold Payne when I was in Long Beach

Had a nice lunch with Gary Powell

are you on facebook
send me an invite
www.facebook.com/people/Ande-Rasmussen/7921551

Write On,

Ande

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jason Blume has a new CD it's called

Taking Care of Business with Jason Blume,
Volume 3

74 Minute Audio CD. Topics include:
How to "Sell" and Publish Your Songs,
Understanding Single Song Contracts,
Staff-Writing Deals,
PRO's,
Performance and Mechanical Royalties,
Licenses,
Holds,
Copyright,
Pitching Your Songs,
Songpluggers,
Placing Your Songs in TV & Film, and
lists of resources that will allow to get your songs to international
and U.S. artists,and film/TV libraries & music supervisors.

Everything jason does is excellent and I highly recommend it

http://www.jasonblume.com/221643.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~

stevenbacon
Casual Observer

Registered: May, 18 2005

Loc: westbrook, maine, usa Hi fellow JPF folks,
I wanted to share a story about some success that I've had in the
past week. Since the "big event" that i'll go into shortly, i've been
contacted by a number of industry types and am continuing to have
exciting things happen everyday. I'll keep you all updated to the
follow up things that have been happening, once I've posted the main
story.

I also want to say that I've been talking on the phone with Brian
Austin Whitney who is helping me plan out my strategy for how to
harness my recent success and how to build on it. Brian is AWESOME,
and he's given me a well thought out list of things to do next, which
you better believe I'll be following up on.
so here's the story:

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Steven Bacon and Glen Hansard: THE REST OF THE STORY
(there are pics of the event at http://www.stevenbacon.com)

As some of you already know, I make me living as a subway performer /
street performer.
A recent independently produced movie has given me great inspiration
and the much needed strength to keep on keeping on.... The movie is
called "ONCE" and stars Irish singer songwriter Glen Hansard (lead
singer of "The Frames"), as a down and out street performer, with big
dreams (sound familiar?). Glen costars with songwriter Marketa
Irglova who plays the nontraditional love interest with hopes and
dreams of her own.
One of the many amazing things about this movie is that the stars,
Glen and Marketa, wrote and performed all the music in the movie.
Although this movie only had a budget of $150,000, Glen and Marketa
went on to win an Oscar for best song in a movie (for Falling
Slowly), and a Grammy as well (all in 2008)
So how do I fit in with all this? Well, when I heard they were coming
to town (Boston, Agannis Areana, 9-19-08), I bought tickets and when
the day of the concert came (last Friday) I set up my street
performing gear outside of the arena and proceeded to play all day in
hopes of meeting Glen and Marketa.
After about 3 hours of playing I met a kindred spirit named Peter
Olson. He had met Glen at a previous show and wished me well with my
adventure. Soon after, the arena security staff politely kicked me
off the premises, since it's against policy to have street performers
on BU property. They were cool and said "we don't care if we hear
you, it's just the policy of where you are... why don't you go across
the street and no one will bother you". I gotta say that's the most
pleasant getting kicked out experience i've had to date! I was
thinking about just packing up and leaving, but I decided to keep
soldiering on, so I found a condemned shop with garbage bags covering
the windows and set up outside of there, thinking I would be safe for
a few hours here.
About 10 minutes later, I'm singing and playing with my eyes closed
and when I open them I see Glen and Marketa Standing in front of me
with big smiles and kind eyes. Glen throws me a tip, we talk about
busking, I blabber incoherently about how much of an inspiration he
is to me and tell him I have tickets to the show. Glen and I shake
hands and he asks if I'll have all my gear inside the show and then
says, "We'll see you inside!", and I say "I'll see you inside, but
you probably won't see me!" and we both laugh. It turns out that
Peter Olson, who I had just met in the previous hour, ran into Glen
and Marketa and sent them my direction. Peter also followed them and
took pictures with his iphone of our encounter. Afterwards Peter said
if I hadn't moved (aka gotten kicked out), Glen and Marketa probably
wouldn't have found me. SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE.......
So I play for a few more hours, and I'm on cloud 9... (it's now been
5 or 6 hours of busking....can't feel hands, gotta pee, losing my
voice, ... all the usual stuff..). Finally it's time to see Glen and
Marketa perform so, my wife and I head off to see the show.
My wife is pretty concerned they won't let me in with all my gear
because she went and checked while I was playing and saw the list of
non-allowed items, and I had about half of them (like large bags,
metal poles aka my mic stand etc...). I have a feeling they'll let us
in so off we go to find out.
When we get to the entrance, the security guard gives me what I think
is a "great, another one of these guys" looks. Instead of showing me
the door, he pauses and says.... "Oh hey, are you the guy who's been
playing outside?.... is that a Martin guitar you were playing? I play
one too... you sound great! Yeah... this guy is alright, let him in."
So, no problem getting in and I've got a new friend to boot.
We finally manage to get to our seats in the dark, no small feat with
all my gear, and we enjoy Patty Griffin's opening set.
Next, Glen and Marketa come on with Glen's band the Frames. They are
astounding, amazing, mind blowing, beautiful, inspiring, original,
soulful, full of depth and raw talent. They play some of their big
hits (including Falling Slowly) and then everyone leaves the stage
except for Glen. He plays a solo song and then says: "So, we were
walking around Boston today and we met this busker. He was
fantastic... I think his name was Steven.... now everyone please be
quiet for a second.... Steven are you here?"
Yeah.. I'm here!... I stand up and lift my guitar high over my head
like an Olympic weight lifter (caught up in the moment, I was...).
The crowd begins to cheer and Glen says... "LET"S HAVE A REAL BUSKER
UP ON THE STAGE! STEVEN COME UP AND SING US A SONG!"
I think this was the point were I my heart stopped beating and I
began to choke on my giant pretzel...
So, the crowd keeps cheering and I run up to the stage. I make eye
contact with about a zillion people on the way who are as caught up
in the moment as I am. The guards let me on stage... and there's Glen
to great me with a warm smile. I hug Glen and the crowd cheers. Glen
says "Hey, do you want to use my guitar, it's already plugged in..."
Side note, this is the guitar Glen played in the movie, and it's
famous.... I dream about that guitar... Do I want to play it? Yeah, I
want to play it! I want to marry it and raise saplings together... I
want to fight crime with it... I want to take it to the zoo, take it
to the movies, knit sweaters for it , paint it's picture, and
celebrate Arbor Day with it.....(ok i'll stop there). Of course Glen
knows how exciting playing his guitar would be for me, and it's
another kind and thoughtful gesture on his part.
After fumbling through my guitar case to find my Harmonica and capo,
I approach the mic, and the crowd is going wild. In a fog akin to
deer in the headlights syndrome I say something, to the crowd,
probably something I would regret if I could remember what it was....
I do remember saying... "ok I'll stop talking and make this quick...
you guys didn't pay to see me." That went over well. Hmmm... maybe a
little too well. But seriously folks...
As I struggle to get my heart rate back under 300 bpm, I play the
opening chords of my song "Charlie wants to run".... Charlie is a
metaphorical reference to the subway in Boston, aka the Charlie
train. I play the intro with guitar and harmonica. I think after I
played the progression through the first time I got big cheers, maybe
because people were happy after all the buildup of this moment that I
didn't totally suck. I sing the first note and realize... uh-oh my
voice is gone from my 6 hours of busking in the cold today... still
can't feel my hands... DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!.. then i get a
hold of myself and start to relax and take in the moment. I notice
that everyone is clapping to the beat. I realize how to connect with
the audience halfway through my song and I start to make eye contact
one by one with everyone who is close enough for me to see. Each
person I look at seems to get that I'm looking at them and we smile
at each other, having meaningful and happy, albiet breif, exchanges.
I can see how inspired they are by this moment and how excited they
are for me. I've never felt more love and support in a performance
setting in my life. I know that feeling will stay with me always.
At this point I realize I've gotten lost in the crowd and my song
structure has flown south for the winter. I realize I've sang the
chorus 3 or more times in a row .... time to stop! I somehow manage
to end the tune as thousands of Swell Season fans rise to their feet
to give me a standing ovation. Glen runs up to me and gives me a big
hug and says to the audience "That was F---ing Great!"
On the way off stage I get to thank each member of the Frames and
Marketa. Big giant security guard gives me a hug. Everybody wants to
shake my hand as I wander, lost-dazed and confused, trying to find my
seat, and process what I'm pretty sure has just happened.
Afterward, I signed autographs for the first time in my life and set
up my gear outside the Arena and played outside until 2am... this
time I didn't even notice the cold.. I stopped when my amp died in a
horrible barking way that only busker's amps can die.. I think I
might have fried it, but perhaps I can fix it. If you see me busking
in Park Street or Davis station Wednesday afternoon then you'll know
the amp made it through another round of meatball surgery.
If you would like to be involved in the upcoming chapters of this
story, please help me make the most of this big break by forwarding
this email to your friends, your press contacts (Newspaper, Magazine,
TV, Radio, the Web), anyone you know who you think might be
interested in booking me at their venue or house concert, any
songwriter agents, recording industry types, ...etc!!! I have never
asked anything of the sort in the past, but I believe this story can
inspire others to go for their dreams and I am excited to share it
and see how it all plays out.

Edited by stevenbacon

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ever heard of
http://www.ayanahaviv.com

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

thought these were interesting

best cheatin songs
http://www.theboot.com/2008/08/15/countrys-best-cheating-songs-no-20/

best drinkin songs
http://www.theboot.com/2008/03/04/best-country-drinking-songs-br-no-
25/

best flat broke songs
http://www.theboot.com/2008/10/21/flat-broke-songs-no-10/

best ptriotic songs
http://www.theboot.com/2008/07/02/countrys-greatest-patriotic-songs-
no-10/

stories behind the songs
http://www.theboot.com/category/story-behind-the-song/

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Subject: I'm looking for songs.

Joani Tabor Ministries
"Nothing's Going To Steal My Joy"
Website: www.joanitabor.org
If you wish to become an email prayer partner,
email us.

-----Original Message-----
From: GJTabor@...


~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

American Songspace is

A site for WRITERS to market their songs Through opportunities for
song placements and interactive contests, we hope to advance the
careers of songwriters.

A site for INDUSTRY to find songs
By introducing songs to music industry professionals we help discover
songs and put them in their place

A place for EVERYONE to connect.
We're a media company devoted to the craft and business of songs,
bringing writers and industry together in one place.
WWW.AMERICANSONGSPACE.COM

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

this is outstanding

every song has a journey
every song has a story

here are 3 you ought to know

please watch these

Bring On the Rain
Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWYRfsjBNQk
Story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqe94TdV3tw

Never Alone
Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnNK4Alwbsw
Story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clu6TLnzals

Time of My Life
Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt4aTMTGZPM
Story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxwbeL4i0zo

by http://www.youtube.com/user/sbtsong

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

http://www.songwriterforums.com/forums/

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When I first met Bob Mulloy I was petrified...scared to death, shy
and at the tender young age of 18 years old. Bob was the Director of
the Belmont Reasons at Belmont College..which is now Belmont
University in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Belmont Reasons was a group of singers and musicians whose job it
was to promote the college and encourage young high school students
to come to Belmont. Well, when the Reasons came to Franklin High
School..and I saw three of my friends already in the group... I
thought to myself....that's it.. I have to be in that group, I have
to sing and dance in that group... I have to be a Reason!

The summer after I graduated from high school.. there was an audition
to be in the Reasons...and I went to the college¹s huge stage..and
sang my heart out. And Mr. Mulloy at first thought I was a huge
snob...because I was so quiet...but he had no idea that I was so
nervous, and painfully shy ... To make a long story short, I found
out that I passed the audition 2 months later....and 2 weeks before
Reasons ³training camp². Mr. Mulloy put me through the baptism of
³FIRE². I thought he hated me...he would make me practice over and
over again...read the theory...recite it back to him..and the torture
went on and on! BUT...oh the things that I learned from this Man!

The Reasons performed Pop shows for the various high schools across
the state and then we would also have a Gospel show for the
churches.... It seemed that every weekend...we were on the road
traveling back and forth to various concerts and events. We had
different outfits for the different shows...had to learn 10-15 songs
per show..using no notes...and everything was fully choreographed. I
had never gotten so much exercise in my entire life. We eventually
recorded several records in the Belmont recording studio...which gave
me such invaluable experience in the studio..how to sing with others
and blend...stage presence..and how to work with a team of others.

I spent 5 years under the leadership of Bob Mulloy...who very quickly
became a dearly loved father figure after my first year..when my
father died very suddenly during that summer break! Bob came to the
funeral and knelt down and told me that he was there for me..and then
we were locked into each other¹s heart from there on! He took me
under his wing like no other person that I had ever encountered, he
grew me up...he "kicked my butt" as he would say, forced me to learn,
forced me out of my shell! And he changed the course of my life
forever. Had I not passed that audition back in 1979, I never
would¹ve attended Belmont, for it was also a partial scholarship,
which I desperately needed. And I definitely would not have had the
skills or the confidence to pursue my dreams of singing today. Mr.
Mulloy passed away several years ago from cancer...and his passing
affected us all who passed through his life. I'm more sad for the men
and women that will never know him and his influence that I could
ever be for myself. He was a life changer! Some of the folks that he
influenced during his time at Belmont University were myself, Steven
Curtis Chapman, Dann Huff, David Huff, Gary Lunn, Gordon Kennedy,
Tricia Yearwood..and the list goes on.

If there is someone in your life, even your own child....that you can
mentor, whether it be spiritually, physically, musically..creatively
or artistically...whatever...then take them under your wing...support
their dreams, be there for them...be honest with them....and light
their heart!

You will find the blessing of being poured out..and being Jesus to
someone else...who will eventually take your baton into the next
generation! So whatever else you do in your life.....
Mentor, Mentor, Mentor!
http://www.lisabevill.com/mentoring.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

study steve seskin

We're Not Waiting (for the World to Change)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2p95OJImuA

Steve Seskin 2 USE MINE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq_QZGx_1qA

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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The GRAMMY Museum is more than just a celebration of the music
industry's most prestigious award. It's a one-of-a-kind experience
where music fans are invited to look behind the curtain at how
today's music is created and produced. As a GRAMMY Museum Charter
Member, your support will be instrumental in shaping the future of
the Museum, as well as music around the world, starting right here in
Los Angeles.

In this exciting year of firsts, your membership will be your
backstage pass to explore a world of intimate performances, lectures,
classes and events. Plus as a Recording Academy member you will
receive a 20% discount!

In order to get your 20% discount please enter the promotional code
CHARTER when applying for membership.

There are four easy ways to join:

1. Call the membership office: 213.765.6800 (press 3 for Membership)

2. Send us an e-mail: membership@...

3. Join online: www.grammymuseum.org/membership

4. Send a check to: Membership Department
714 W. Olympic, Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90015

Charter Membership Benefits
- Free admission for one year
(Tickets are scheduled, so advance booking is suggested.) - Preferred
ticketing to The GRAMMY Museum-hosted programs, events and
performances
- 72-hour advance notice for The GRAMMY Museum-hosted events -
Invitations to members-only events, previews and shopping specials
- Subscription to members exclusive e-zine On The Record
- 10% discount in The GRAMMY Museum Store
- Personalized membership card(s)
- Commemorative art piece commissioned by The GRAMMY Museum
Student/Senior/Educator/Traveler - $32, Regularly $40 Students,
seniors, educators, and out-of-state applicants must present valid ID
- All the benefits of Charter Membership for one adult - One
personalized membership card
Emerging Artist - $40, Regularly $50
- All the benefits of Charter Membership for one adult - One
personalized membership card Debut - $60, Regularly $75
- All the benefits of Charter Membership for two adults - Two
personalized membership cards
Opening Act - $72, Regularly $90
- All the benefits of Debut including Admission for up to four youths
(ages 6-17)
- PLUS free admission to monthly family education programs Headliner -
$100, Regularly $125
- All the benefits of Opening Act - PLUS four one-time use guest
passes ($60 value!) Nominee - $200, Regularly $250
- All the benefits of Headliner - PLUS an invitation to an exclusive
members evening on the GRAMMY Sound Stage
Award Winner - $400, Regularly $500
- All the benefits of Nominee - PLUS Invitation to "Curator's
Perspective" (an evening tour, discussion, and reception)
- Eight one-time use guest passes ($120 value)
Icon - $800, Regularly $1,000
- All the benefits of Award Winner - PLUS free PRIORITY admission for
two adults and four youths (ages 6-17) - Membership to L.A. LIVE
Ticketing Club
- Invitation to dinner with the Museum's Executive Director -
Eligible for Museum Travel Program *Benefits are subject to change



~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~



Pitching Feedback From A Street Pitch Guest:
The pitch guest for # 459 Gary Allen emailed us to say, “One of the
reasons I'm passing on so many songs is that I'm finding that
sometimes even though a song has lyrics that are cool or very
interesting, the melody is a letdown or kind of generic. I think that
it would be great if the songwriting students would be working and re-
writing melodies just like they do on their lyrics. I'm sure that the
SongU courses on melody writing and coaches can speak to this topic.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The countdown to Music's Biggest Night has started! The 51st Annual
GRAMMY Awards will take place on Wednesday, February 8, 2009. The Pre-
Telecast awards ceremony begins at 1 p.m. PST in the Los Angeles
Convention Center, immediately followed by the GRAMMY Awards global
telecast at 5 p.m. PST in STAPLES Center, broadcast live on CBS.
As a member of The Recording Academy, you are invited to attend the
51st Annual GRAMMY Awards and The 2009 GRAMMY Celebration after
party. The GRAMMY Awards ceremony is not open to the public and is a
benefit of your membership in The Academy. Beginning Wednesday,
December 17, at 9 a.m. PST, GRAMMY Awards ticket order forms will be
available on the exclusive membership pages of GRAMMY.com.
To obtain a ticket order form, please log on to GRAMMY.com, input
your member number and password, and the link to the form will be
near the bottom of the page. If you do not have your password, please
use the "Forgot My Password" button to have your password emailed to
you. If you need further assistance in obtaining your password,
please email meminfo@....
Traffic on GRAMMY.com may be unusually high. It is strongly
recommended that you obtain your member password prior to the
December 17 on-sale date.
All information regarding pricing, maximum ticket allowances, seating
levels and GRAMMY Celebration Party tickets will be available on the
ticket form. Please remember that tickets to both the GRAMMY Awards
telecast and GRAMMY Celebration Party are non-transferable. Please
reference the ticket form for The Recording Academy's policy
regarding ticket transfer.
The next 50 is here! We look forward to you joining us as we, along
with a global television audience, celebrate Music's Biggest Night!



~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hey Ande,
Hope you are doing great!
I created a new internet rhyme finder/dictionary for songwriters
and thought your members might make good use of it. It's free:
http://www.perfectrhyme.com
What's different about it? First, perfect and near rhymes organized
from closest to most remote. Second, a dictionary that is mostly
words found in actual songs, few archaic or useless words.
Third, users can get rhymes for slang and other words it doesn't know
yet, just by typing an exact rhyme.
By doing so they improve the service for others.
Take care now,
Adrian
__________________________________
Do, or do not. There is no "Try".
-Yoda
Check out my music at:
http://www.adriannye.com


~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

a songwriter wrote this to me
Sent: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 7:08 pm
Subject: Need a little help

Hello,

I am new to you're group and I have some question I am hoping that
you can help me on.
I am song writer, I write songs not the music, since I got hurt I
can't play my guitar ( but that's another matter.)
My manger/agent is telling me that I have to pay for everything, and
that I
need to be the one that talks to other agents and mangers. Know I am
not a
good talker with other agents, I tried once and they ask me were my
agent was.
I also had to pay for ASCAP which I don't know what they are for are
what
they can do to help me. I have not got a copyright yet cause they
want me
to pay 350.00 for the apps. I also had to pay for my web page which my
agent not doing nothing with. You can check it out at
www.davidmasonlryics.com. I don't know which way to go, my agent
wants me to go to Austin, Texas to
talk to other people while he stay at home.
Is that the way agents are suppose to do, my agent has the money and
he is
a better talker than I am.
Any advice you can give me I would be gratefully cause I am lost, I
love to
write and I want my song out there, I not doing this for the money, I
write
to make people happy and they can relate to my song.
Thank you for having the time to read my letter and I hope that you
can get
back with me on my problem.
Thank you

my reply was

Dear David,

nice to hear from you

when you write lyrics you need to find melody writers to set your
words to music, don't hire a business to do it

most songwriters don't have agents
be your own agent

you don't need to pay ascap $350

i suggest you read the message archive at
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/DIFS/messages


participate on online communities like
jpfolks.org
songramp.com
http://www.songramp.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=57759


read books by jason blume
www.jasonblume.com

consider joining songU
www.songu.com/ifs
nice to hear from you
wish you the best with your writing


Consult with Marc Alan Barnette


wish you well

ande rasmussen


~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~



Write on,

Ande

Does anyone EVER read IFS to the VERY END?