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Joined: Apr 2007
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Hi Musicians, After 6 years in Asia, I am moving back to Knoxville, TN in early July and looking for collaborators for my lyrics/songs. I have over 200 on demo now and another 100+ lyrics. You can go to my soundclick sites to hear some of what I have already done. If you are a band/singer, and want to try to work on one already demoed to perform, we can work on that, and share % if successful. If you are musician and want to put music to any of my lyric we can do that. I am fairly easy to work with, just send me a PM and I will give my email.
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Look up John Condrone or Karen Reynolds in that area. Both are on Facebook and easily contactable. They host all kinds of writers nights around town. Karen also has a radio show called "The Writers Block" on the public radio station. There are dozens of writers nights and open mics a month in Knoxville, Maryville, and up in the Gatlinburg, Sevierville area. Also the SMOKEY MOUNTAIN SONGWRITERS FESTIVAL is in August. Should give you a lot of options to look at.
MAB
Last edited by Marc Barnette; 05/22/16 03:14 PM.
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My ex and I went to the World's Fair in Knoxville in 1982. It was so crowded, we left and went to the zoo.
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Hi Marc, Nice to see you again. Thanks for the info and advice. I sent friend request and messages to both. To do the open mikes I need to find a picker since I don't play anymore. I hadn't sung a note in years until I got to Chiang Mai, Thailand. my first night there I went to a Mexican restaurant to eat and they had karaoke going. I had never tried it but the KJ pulled me up on stage after he heard me singing along from my bar-stool. I did "Ring of Fire" with him, got great applause and cries of "More, more, more!", and a monster was born. I got cracked and scarred eardrums from artillery fire in Vietnam in '68 and went tone deaf so bad I knew I would never sing or play music again so all this came as a big surprise to me. I ended up singing karaoke 6-7 nights a week for over a year until the owners of the place had a big fight and closed it down. I had fans from all over the world, including lots of young American/ EU, and Aussie girls. Imagine a 66 year old man discovering applause for the 2nd time in his life. It was like the best drug you could ever imagine. Anyway, thanks again.
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Hi Jim, I think all world's fairs are like that, and good choice. zoos are usually very nice.
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John,
The idea is getting around like minded people. If you are interested in getting out and performing, the first thing you have to do is get around where the performers are. If you need to find a guitar player, you have to go to where the guitar players are. You also might check out if there are some google searches for local neighborhoods in your area. There are local magazines that are in pretty much every resturant and bar that list the local happenings in the music scene. Should be able to find some starting places there. But you have to go.
People tend to forget that until they are going to get out and physically support others, it is very difficult to get support for themselves. They always have to take the first step.I would plan on making some trips out to meet people. Might take a while to kick it off, but there are a lot of people out there. Join some local groups like NSAI and get into the local scene.
Good luck. MAB
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Hi Marc, Thanks again. I took your advice to heart about 15 years ago. I entered the songwriting contest everyone says is a rip-off for country Christmas songs with 2 of the first I had written in 30 years in 2001. I won first prize, got a cash prize, 2 free demos, and a nice certificate for my wall. The people that ran it liked my writing and told me I should move to Nashville and start making the rounds. I joined JPF, made some friends, bought a mobile home in Hendersonville, moved down and started the process. I went to Pineyfest and met lots of people, including Bobbie Gallup who started introducing me to many of the publishers/producers etc. that she knew. Then my mother took a turn for the worse in the nursing home in NJ and I moved back to be close to her for what time she had left. I also went back to work for the company that I had left to go to TN, providing private duty nursing care to very ill pediatric patients. After my mom passed I was working an average of 72 hours a week and making a good living and a bird in the hand looked better than pushing my dream in TN so I put in another 8 years and retired to Asia. I am going to take your advice again, and push my music some more. I still believe I am a talented songwriter but I did learn one lesson from my time in TN, talent is never enough, you have to make the right connections, and sometimes kiss the right butts, if you are going to get anywhere in the music industry today. I will get out there and hope... I already made friends with John Condrone, and found that Karen Reynolds knows one of my demo singers from NJ. John says he will be happy to meet when I get there. Karen is just getting over an illness and I haven't heard back from her yet. Thanks again.
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John,
The main reason that you should get out as much as you can, is to make FRIENDS. The songwriting thing is fine, getting cuts are okay (they never pay much of anything) and the higher the level you go, usually the less you want to be involved with it.) but being around people with the same interest, sharing songs, hearing a co-writer do one of your songs on a round, working up a little at a time, has it's own rewards.
I would suggest everyone drop the "getting somewhere" in the business, as a goal, because to be honest, there's not a lot of "business" to get anywhere with. Once you redefine your goals and work on what's acheivable, view the things you can do,over what you WISH you could do, it gets much easier and much more rewarding.
Using your example, I would say you already ahve experienced some of this. Meeting Bobby, the people involved with Pineyfest, your involvement here, I would say has given you a much better sense of accomplishment than most people pursuing the "legitimate music business" ever will.
That is what I would focus on. You're in a new place, a chance to start off fresh, a whole new set of friends and co-horts right around the corner. Don't miss the opportunity.
MAB
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Hi Marc,
You are right about the getting anywhere in the music business being a hard road. Overnight success is usually the culmination of many hard years of effort. And yes, I already have a lot of pride in what I have accomplished through my own writing,co-writing, demo production, and even a #1 co-write on the UK CMA charts for 2 weeks and in the top 100 across EU for 22 weeks. I made a whole $8 on that one, but it was still lots of fun. I enjoy meeting new people and experiencing new things but it wouldn't hurt to see a little of the investment I put into the demos come back. I don't expect that to happen but I will keep the options open. I am already retired, not rich but enough to live OK. After I settle in I will be going to Nashville every once in a while to visit my favorite classic country bar on Broadway and sing along for a few hours. Maybe I will even find a picker and do some open mikes there. Is the Bluebird still open?
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Yeah, the Bluebird is still open. The number one club in town. Every show sells out in five minutes on Monday morning by 8:05. There is usually a standing line of 25-50 people waiting to get in for every show. People start coming by at 10:00 in the morning to have their picture taken out front, and there are continuous bus tours just to see it.
They had to change the rules on their Monday open mic because they were having to turn away around 125 people per week that were wanting to play but couldn't. It has become synonomys with Nashville songwriting. If you come back to town to sing a few on Broadway, it is probably not going to be much that you remember. It is sort of Bourbon Street every night down there now. Locals avoid downtown like the plague. Very expensive and no places to park any way. Be prepared to stand in line a lot. There are a lot of people now all trying to do this.
MAB
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The last time I was there they were talking about the Bluebird being sold and torn down to build a hotel or something. Glad to hear it's still alive and kickin', even more famous because of "Nashville", the show. I was never much for the downtown scene at night. I used to go in the early afternoon and leave when the crowds got there. A lot of the real musicians/backup bands used to go there then to keep their hands in when they weren't touring. I got to hear some great pickers. The first time I went to Nashville was with my 3rd wife, before I thought about writing country music, to dance on the Wild Horse TV show. We stayed for 2 weeks then went home to watch ourselves on the show for over a month. When I get settled and ready to go to Nashville I will PM you and maybe we can get together for a drink.
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John, that was an April Fools day joke that was started in the 90's and gets dragged up again every year. The Bluebird is not going anywhere. It was "sold" a few years ago, actually transferred ownership from Amy Kurland to the Nashville Songwriters Association International. But it is quite the money maker so I doubt it is in any trouble. Pretty much every well known club goes through that same thing because there is a lot of changes and renovations going on. But I doubt that one is going anywhere. In Knoxville, Karen Reynolds is doing shows every week. This is one I have played and a really good venue. The OPEN CHORD. https://www.facebook.com/events/478630339013716/If you want to plug in quickly, that is where I would start. MAB
Last edited by Marc Barnette; 05/24/16 06:46 PM.
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Thanks Marc, It is close to the area I am thinking of finding a home in.
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John,
Make sure you go up and tell Karen I sent you. Good person to know.
MAB
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