JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Industry Message Forum Indevo Records/Band with a Mission

Hey Guys,

Has anyone heard of Indevo Records or this A&R outfit called "Band with a Mission" (http://www.bandwithamission.com)?

I was emailed about them and playing a 4-song showcase in Nashville for $199.

Just wondering if anyone else is getting this.

JM

I got an email as well about a Nashville Showcase. I'm not familiar with them and can't find any info. I hope to find out before I spend $200.00, plus the cost of a trip to Nashville. Ruth

Ruth,

I just called SESAC (who is one of Band with a Mission's sponsors). They say they are on the up-and-up.

I still would like to know more about Indevo Records, but at least I know that the showcase is legit.

Now, would I shell out $200 plus a drive to Nashville?? I don't know.

~JM~

There are a lot of companies doing this pay for a showcase business. A showcase should only be done when interest is already expressed in an artist or writer. Everybody in this town gets dozens of showcase invitations a week in this town and unless you have a personal reason to go, you never do.

There are too many people we already know about to go see some out of town people do what is in effect a glorified writer's night.

I believe people should make trips to music centers. But never for this "one big shot" at he big time. It never happens that way.

MAB

I know folks that were invited after the people said they saw them on myspace. They send out LOTS of invitations and some of the letters I have seen have that veiled air of..... we are going to make your stars in the Christian Music Scene. They never say it directly..... they are too slick for that but that lure is there.

Evey person that I know that was invited and went was disappointed. They all said about what Marc has said... it ended up being a glorified writers night.

I would proceed with caution.
I would ask questions like....

Please specifically name for me the publishers that will hear my performance.

Band with a mission started off as a contest for bands with the winning band going on tour to the mission field.

Google it for interesting info.

Sometimes I hate being right.

There is no end to people wanting to separate dreamers from their money. Part of the reason I am in business is to protect against just that.

Showcaseas are an intregal part of every writer/artists career. There are about four distinct kind.

The general open mic/writer's showcase. Done as a feature on a specific writer's night. They invite their friends and have a few drinks. Sometimes these can be done as a "round' with several writers going at one time. In some instances, they might get a band and share that between them.

The specific early evening showcase for artists.
This is where the artist or perhaps multi artists, will rent a room, have a band or multiple bands, in a thirty minute to two-three hour time frame. usually there are drinks and food.
The cost can range from a couple hundred dollars to thousands.

The publishers showcase. Where one publisher will showcase their new writers and songs.

The Full monty label showcase. This is where the artist already has interest from one or more labels, and is the "icing on the cake". usually labels ( who all talk privately) are viing to see who is going to actually sign the act. My personal experince most recently happened in March, where my artist, Frankie Ballard did two showcases. He was courted by four labels, and signed with Warner Brothers.

What you have with this is the last showcase option. The "Flog and hope." It is put on by charging each act X amount of dollars, sending out a bunch of invites but no one has real interest in them. The acts are expected to work the crowd before hand and invite all their friends. It is done for no one in particular and always have the same results.

From the industry side, think of it like this. You work all day long from around 9:00 to 5:00 listening to music and dealing with the music business. You are trying to do the best you can to keep your existing acts, writers, songs, pitches, etc. out there and earning money to keep your company going.
You are constantly reviewing songs and writers. You have multi meetings every day. You have referalls and friends of friends bringing other friends of friends. Your lunches are filled with industry people. You do as much stuff online and on the phone as anything else you do. You have virtually no social life outside the music business.
About three days a week you are at some social event. networking mixers, showcases, number one parties, etc. You get home around 9:00 at night and have to go through e-mails and do other music related events as you try to eat, or have relations with your family. You live around 20 minutes outside of town so you are spending two hours a day in traffic.
Would you go out to a showcase if you didn't know anyone on it?

MAB

Well,
I have said it a few times and will say it again. If an Artist wants to be sucessful they need to begin playing places perhaps in their local area and get a track record before trying to get a record deal. If you don't have some experence a record label isn't going to be intersted in you.

Ray,

You are on it now.Record labels are interested in one thing. Sales. They are only looking at people who have local and regional followings before even considering signing an act. The numbers that you have to have are based upon your fan base, mailing list, My space, You Tube, Face book and other web site potential fans:

Independent labels look for 15000-20,000 potential fan base.
Majors will not consider less than 40,000-50,000.

If you cannot generate that kind of sales to begin with, you are of no use to a record company.

Taylor Swift came with 100,000 people before their deal.
Internet savy bands like Black Eyed Peas, Green Day and others have hundreds of thousands of people and are selling CD's and downloads before they get deals.

If you don't have that, don't apply for the job. You are not qualified.

MAB

We have agreed to fly down from MA/RI to participate in the Band With A Mission project in October. The cost of the entrance fee and travel is being paid through fund raising and fan support, we see this as a "nothing ventured, nothing gained" adventure. We've are also playing worship at a church in Huntsville the Sunday prior.. so we get to come to Nashville, play at Michael W. Smith's Rocketown and hang out with some friends and family. We're pretty excited about it!!

Good luck Brian.

Thanks Everett! When you walk in faith, then it really is in HIS^ hands. Right now my expectations are low from what I've been reading about Band With A Mission.. so the worst that can happen is we get to play worship at a sister church in Alabama and then some music in Nashville! It's on our resume and along the way we meet some new friends. Life is a journey, sometimes we really try to make it more complicated than it really needs to be!

You are right, it is in HIS hands. HE has a plan for your life and HE has a plan for mine, some times we try to rush things and take over, we must learn to let go and let GOD. May HE bless your journey and your mission.

Thanks Everett, may HE continue to bless your ministry and journey as well!

YBC

Band With A Mission was just about one of the best things God could have
thrown our way. The whole process was easy and we had the absolute time of
our lives. God totally used BWAM to expand our ministry. Besides the record
deal and everything else, the memories and friends we made there were
eternal. Thanks to Austin Cook and everyone else involved with BWAM that God
has used to help us get where He wants us. We are forever grateful!!!

Wes and Rush Of Fools

----------------------------

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to perform yesterday. We had an awesome time and the memories of our trip will last us for years to come. Thank you for your criticism, I am going to use that to improve my show and master my craft. I have also emailed Chris and will await his response. If there is anything I can do for you in the future, please don't hesitate to call me. Have a blessed day. Thanks again.
 
Jermaine Cobbs

----------------------------


We just wanted to say thank you SO much for giving us the opportunity to play for you guys! We definately had a wonderful time, and know now what we should work on, and what our stronger points are! If you liked our stuff, maybe next year we'll be able to come back up there and recieve a whole new critique! lol. But as we said, thanks SO much BWAM! you guys are awesome!

-Zeropoint-

----------------------------


Just want to say a big thank you for the assessment & running the whole BWAM showcase.  I had a great time on Monday, and really enjoyed my trip to Nashville :)  I guess I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised.  I appreciate your honest, upfront critique.  That's exactly what I want- makes the trip worthwhile!  
Blessings,
Caitlin

----------------------------



I just wanted to say thank you for the oppertunity and the feedback. We
had a blast on our trip and it was a blessing to meet and play for
everyone. Take care and God bless!

Joe Denges
Hollowell

----------------------------

Hey,
 
Thanks so much for all your advice and input. It means a lot to hear honesty from the business side of things. We are already looking to improve on the areas and hope we weren't a let down.Thanks again for everything and through the year we will be booking shows and recording a debut EP for ''voicebox...'' Once we are in place, we'd like to send you a few tracks. Have a great week and we hope to hear back soon.
 
Elic w/ ''voicebox...''
----------------------------

Hi bwam,
     First of all I want to say thank you for the opportunity. I also want to say thank you for your criticism, your views and assessment will be helpful to us. We have already talked it over and we are planning on making the necessary changes to produce the sound and image that is desired. I hope that you have a great day and we hope to hear from you. Thank you, Unbroken

----------------------------

Austin,
 
Thanks for the opportunity and we did enjoy it. This was something of an eye opener for us but I think we have a much better idea now of what we need to do to establish our market niche. Thanks again and God's blessing to you and your organization.
 
Pete
 
Peter J. Eckenrode, Director

----------------------------

Thank you!

I did have a great time in Nashville.
 
Thank you for your comments-I know that those are my weak points and I am trying to work on them. I will continue to work on my performance and I am going to try that Camera idea-it sounds like it would help.
 
Once again, thank you for your constructive criticism-God had to pop my ego before I could hear it, but I read it again late last night and really got a lot out of it, so thank you.
 
I will be sending you a demo if you're still interested-the ladies at the post office wouldn't let me drop it in your box and I had left my walet at home...let me know! ( I need an address if you want a copy, I washed it off my hand on accident!)
 
Walk worthy,
Rebekah Gumm

----------------------------

Hi Austin!  

Thank you for the opportunity in the past.  It was a great experience to play at Band with a Mission in November of 2007 and I wouldn't trade it for the world.  

Since then I have discovered another gift...photography.  So I have started my own business and am so blessed to be getting paid for something I'm passionate about...even if it isn't singing.  Check it out if you have time :) 

Anyway, I just wanted to thank you again.  

Take care!!!

Sincerely,
ali brown
----------------------------

Hello,
 
Thanks for the great advice. We really appreciate it. We've begun to put your advice into practice, creating scripts and nailing down what goes on during a show. Did you go over the press kit/have time to listen to the album? Let us know what you think!
 
I hope you're doing great!
 
----------------------------


-Ben


Thanks so much for the opportunity for True Witness to play for you. We had a blast!! And we were so honored to see some of our fans come all the way from Pa., TW banner in hand, and love in their hearts. It was an amazing honor for us to know that they drove 16 hours to hear us play 3 songs. We were able to spend time with them this afternoon!

We will work on our weaknesses, as per your assessment. Thank you once again. True Witness found the showcase to be a valuable teaching experience. And, we appreciate all of your critiques, and any opportunities that may come up.

We keep doing it for God.

Hope to hear from you soon. We'll keep in touch.

God Bless,
Christine Bowen
True Witness

----------------------------

Austin...

Thank you for your words of encouragement.  We greatly appreciate your insight into where our band is at this point in time.  It was a great experience for all of us in the band.  We do have a couple questions for you.  In the third song you commented about pushing my vocal sound; do you mean trying to sound like other bands?  We recognize that we are younger and do not have the experience of many other bands; however we are very driven to always do better and are ready work on any elements of our performance that need to be worked on.  We will definitely continue to book shows and play as many venues as possible.  We will definitely focus on improving on our stage performance.  Again, thank you for inviting us down, and for giving us an assessment of where we are at.  Any advice or help you can give us is immensely appreciated.  Hope to hear from you soon.  God Bless...

End Ever

-Ben Brewington


----------------------------

Hey BWAM team,

Thanks for the advice and the encouragement. I'm trying to make the transition from worship leading (camps, retreats, etc.) to being an artist, so I know there are things I need to work on. BTW, you're not the first person to tell me I need to work on entertaining , so that may my biggest hurdle. I would absolutely cherish a the opportunity to have people to train with, write great songs with, etc. I hope that's a possibility. Again, thank you for your time and hopefully our paths will cross again in the future.

Josh Hilliker

----------------------------

Hey Chris!

I really enjoyed coming out to play today!  i LOVED getting all the critique and comments.  i'm definitely gonna do everything i can to work on all of those things that you mentioned.  and i felt pretty good about the show overall too.  this was really the first time me and the guys have played a show and this was the first time for me being front man.  so it was great to see what all we could improve right at the beginning!

we do have one recording that our guitarist, kyle, is in the process of mixing right now.  our friend had to record a song for a project and so that's how we were able to do it.  would you like to hear a copy of it?  i can send it to you as soon as we're done mixing it.

hope you have a great week,
cooper

----------------------------

Hey Austin!
Thanks so much again for yesterday and all your help!  I would imagine that it was quite a long day for you!
I really appreciate your critique and frankness, and I already agree with much of what you said.
I'll print this out and see how I can start applying it to my pratices and gigs.  There really isn't much better
than getting out there and doing it.
Albeit a whirlwind ...yesterday was great and a blessing.  I hope it was fruitful for you and I look forward
to seeing you again sometime in the future.
Take care and God bless,
Boomer McLennan

----------------------------

Thanks so much for everything.  I really enjoyed myself and look forward to the future. 
 
Deanna Ransom

----------------------------

Thanks for your feedback. We will implement what you have suggested and get back to within a month. We appreciate your advice and have already began to implement your ideas. We are about to release our music video, we will be sure to send you the link.
 
Thanks again and God Bless,
 
Destined2B

----------------------------

Hi Noel, firstly i wanted to thank you for your input on our playing in canada, we do appreciate your proffessional opinion on all the aspects regarding our songs and everything else associated with it.We are humble, and need constructive criticism from folks like yourself in the music industry.The only thing we regretted was that we had to change 2 songs that morning because our acoustic player kind of lost his voice due to a cold.But still we did the best we could do under the circumstances.Also i do like the new look of the website (NICE CHANGE)!!! GOD BLESS, KEN (U.T.R)...

----------------------------

Thanx for the assessment.
we'll work hard in the weeks and months to come.
When you mention development deal, can you explain (what's done in this kind of deal)

again, thank you

SEBASTIAN DEMREY

----------------------------

Hello Austin, it was my pleasure to meet you and perform last Wednesday. Your comments were excellent and greatly valued. I left you a copy of my 2nd CD entitled "Don't Want To Change". It's also been picked up by other artists. I mentioned to you the third song "Garment Of A King" and hope you get a chance to listen. This song has been picked up by a couple artist one being Alan Jackson and I hope it will be seen on his next release.
 
www.viceroybill.com

----------------------------

hi, i hope the rest of your week went well and that you have a good trip home. i enjoyed my trip. thankyou for the assesment. i agree with much of what you said.hopefully the stage will eventually feel more natural someday.nice to meet you both. take care mark

----------------------------

Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed our performance. We are doing our best and getting better and better with each new song and performance, we will review this assessment as a band and do our best to improve. The songs we chose were some of our best “Live” songs packed with energy and soul. We have many other songs and different structures, but since it was a live performance we focused on our best live songs.
 
Thanks for your time.
 
Thanks!
 
Cheers
Justin Webber
District

----------------------------

Thanks Austin for your intelligent comments...I appreciate your hard working ethic...
 
You are right; I was a tad bit nervous due to a lack of playing live. My problem with that is I lack the business savvy of some artists that can manage and book themselves. I agree that I need to play more to develop that confidence.  And yes, my introductions could be thought out in detail and in advance. I’m trying at times to be spontaneous and it leads me down some trails that may be a little far from the beaten path, I guess that’s the creative side of my brain taking a walk...
 
In regards to the killer hooks, I think it’s a bit of a song by song scenario. Some songs are like you say in the singer songwriter mode where the lyrics are very important and I don’t want to upset that balance, but I believe I am capable of writing that hook.
 
I’m sure given an opportunity to work with the right coach I could produce some very interesting stuff.
 
Thanks for your compliments and I hope we can work together in the near future...

----------------------------

    Hey BWAm, thanks again for having us, and also for your honest feedback. We are interested in releasing our new album through an indie label, and also touring across the US. We are an experienced live band, have played over 120 shows and have done 5 tours, two across Canada and 3 through California to LA. We are very interested in touring across the entire US.
    If you are into coming to our show in Toronto tomorrow night it is at The Horseshoe Tavern, right downtown on Queen St. W. We are opening so we go on right at 9pm. We could hang out and chill for a bit. If you haven't already, I recommend you check out a couple of our very entertaining music videos to see more of what we are about, here is the link to "Try" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTAdf7h-p_A more can be found on our myspace www.myspace.com/jellband
 
thanks,
Rob


----------------------------

Hey, thanks for everything this morning.  It was great to play in front of you guys and get some feedback from people in the industry.  As an artist it's great to get feedback from people who want to help you.  I'll definitely remember the things you've mentioned as I seek to grow as a performer, songwriter and artist.

I look forward to discussing next steps. 

Hope you enjoy hearing the rest of the people this week and that you find some great talent.

Blessings,

Brad Guldemond

----------------------------

Hey Austin,
 
Thanks for the review and the suggestions; I hope you find a more radio-friendly hit on the CD if you get a chance to listen to it. Perhaps Couldn’t do Better would be an option.
We hope to present ourselves to you again in the future.
 
Good luck on finding a Canadian Cracker Barrel!
 
Cheers,
 
Mark Wilkins

----------------------------

Hey Austin

Thanks for your email. It was great to finally meet you after the emails to and fro!

I really appreciate your assessment and constructive criticism especially on my performance and songs. Yea, it's true that there's always so much more need for growth and development of my skill and craft as a singer/songwriter. I definitely will be seeking ways to improve and to develop as an artist. I do appreciate you input..so thank you =)

So yea, it was fun and I always count it a privilege whenever I'm given the opportunity to share my songs...

Thanks again and enjoy the rest of your week in Canada!

Keep in touch!

Grace

----------------------------

Hi Austin
 
Thanks allot for your feedback. I am going to take all these points back and discuss them with the band. We have never really received feedback, so I feel this experience will be very valuable for us.
 
Once again, thanks for the opportunity and the great feedback.
 
Nate


----------------------------

Hi,

I just got back in town (Thornhill). Good to hear from you, I had to leave shortly after our showcase as my guitarist needed to be back for a meeting
and I had to drive him there.  

It was good meeting you. I appreciate the comments and also the positive review about the Originality of my songs.
These are all my songs and the singer and guitarist were there to back me up as an artist. My main goal is in licensing the songs and many of them are made for films.

Your help in that would be much appreciated.   

Best,

Dan David

----------------------------

Thank you so much for having us back. You do awesome work for the kingdom. I hope our paths cross again. Call if u need anything or are ever in columbus.

----------------------------

Thank you for having the band come out to showcase. 90 percent of what you said, they were saying  to each other on the way back home.They were satisfied with the assessment because of the present condition they had to deal with. Three of the members were ill with the flu and our lead singer totally lost his voice up until the last hour before performing, so to the band members, it was a blessing to be able to perform after many days of praying. I could have canceled but I wanted them to learn that that you can't pullout of a performance unless you have to be hospitalized. They we happy with your comments on other things and will make some adjustments. What you seen isn't at all what they perform like on a regular basic. They are very interactive on stage to the point were the crowd is in a uproar. We really appreciate your time and honest assessment and you are right about Angel Song it is now being played on both Christians and secular major radio station on rotations and have won many contests you certainly have a talent for picking songs. I agree "Paralyzed" is there best song on this selection.Again thank you and may God continue to bless you and your business.

God Bless
LaTanya Fobbs


----------------------------

Austin,

We had a great time coming to Nashville for the showcase; I wish we could have had more time to visit and hang out with everyone! We enjoyed the first band, and I'm sure we missed a lot of great music I appreciate you letting Blaze sing his song; that meant a lot to all of us!

Thanks again and God bless!

Rocky Thomas
Rapid Fire

----------------------------

Thanks for everything. We have only been together for 7 months and are trying make things work the best we can. We have 7 complete songs so far and our song composing and lyrics seem to get better with every song we write, so we are really hoping things will continue to move quickly for us. We have a few new songs that are incomplete that we really would have liked to play for you but they werent ready yet. We have played between 15 and 20 times and we know that being on the stage will really help with a lot of stuff. Thanks again for everything and I was also going to ask if there were any companies with booking or promotion or anything that you could refer us to or anything.
God bless,
A.J.


----------------------------

Hey there! Thanks for allowing us to come and play. Appreciate your input as well. I know it must have been a little stressful trying to make sure everyone got a chance to play. Again, thanks for what you had to say! Hope you have a great rest of the week!
 
God bless
 
~ Melissa
 
 
Andy, Melissa and Michelle
 
Deep Renewal Ministries
 

----------------------------

Austin,
 
Thanks for the thorough write-up and great experience yesterday. I hope there might be an opportunity to work together in the future.  I am interested in any/all opps related to publishing, licensing, development etc. so keep me in mind.  I really feel God is driving me to do something more with my music, and it will happen, I hope through/with you.
 
When I get new material together it will be headed your way.  Keep in touch.
 
Thanks and Blessings,
Brad Bacon



----------------------------

hey! great to meet you guys! we enjoyed all that God taught us during our trip and through our experience at Band with a Mission. Thanks for the encouragement and thanks for the insight on how to improve. On the way to nashville, Amber and I were listening to educational cds that we were led to, my eyes got opened as to what seemed to be God's purpose for us being there as they both spoke about being critiqued and the need that. neither had anything to do with music, but one even told a story about how he had learned to use "hooks" after one critique! so it made me smile when i read my sheets.
we have been praying and will pray for you in your search that you find a band that brings glory to God. Amber enjoyed talking with Charmane(i have no idea how to spell her name). May God guide you thanks for your help!

david paulsen

----------------------------

Hey BWAM, thanks for the opportunity to come to your venue and share
my music. Your comments were VERY helpful to me. Unfortunatly my band
couldnt make the trip because of the date,if there is a next time I
will be sure to bring the guys.I wanted to know if I could post your
remarks on my label's page (www.prodigymusicgroup.com)and also
advertise your event on the page also. Again thanks for the opportunity,
D Lawson/PMG

----------------------------

Hey,
Thanks for the assesment, we will keep everything in mind, and we will work on improving!
We would really like to know how to get someone to help us in the managing, is there a way we can talk to someone about this?
Thanks a lot for your help,


Lorena
Soulfire Revolution

----------------------------

Austin,

We had an extremely good time in Nasheville! We truly felt like it's where we belong lol.

Thank you so much for your honest constructive criticism. We definately didn't feel as though you were coming off as mean. haha

We were obviously a little tense because of the situation, and it was our first time playing that second song live so we were nervous about that as well. We have always felt that our movement, confidence, and entertainment was what needed the most work, so we will spend a lot of time working on those areas. We completely agree with every thing you pointed out in our songs.

I hope we can keep in touch! Once again thank you so much for giving us a serious listen, and offering a ton of good advice!

Thanks, and God Bless,
Zuriel

----------------------------

Just wanted to follow up with you on our bwam experience. We felt like you gave us an honest and helpful assessment.
Thank you for the encouragement to focus on writing...That is something that we love to do and it can be so easy to get distracted.

Also your note about confidence was helpful. I know that we are meant to be doing this and so being confident is such an important thing.

Thanks again. We will be in touch

Leo


----------------------------

Thank you for your feedback and advice. We will certianly be thinking about ways we can improve.
 
Daniel

----------------------------

Hey!
    This is David Jenkins from Seattle!
 
Just touching base with you, and I wanted to thank you for the assessment!
 
I also had a question: Have you had a chance to listen to my album yet? If so, I'd love to know you're feedback and thoughts on it! I'm pursuing a career in production along with the artistry side of it, so I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. I know you probably have hundreds of requests like this, so only if you have the time!
 
Again, thank you for your time! Thank you for having me!
Looking forward to hearing from you!
 
For His Renown,
 
Closet Productions

----------------------------

Hey BWAM,
         Thanks again for having us down. We had a great time. I have a question. When you said that we should probably play more mainstream and bars. Did you mean that is were are music is more suited? Or is our music kinda of dated. I realy want an honest opinion. I think we should make some changes in our style of music, but I'm not sure what style we need to be in. Thanks again, and I thank you for your honesty.
 
                                      Steve

----------------------------

Thanks Austin, I had a great time and I met some wonderful people.
 

Roderick Pearson

----------------------------

Hey man! Thanks so much for letting us come do that! We are so blessed to even have the opprotunity to do so. 

We apreciate all the constructovw criticism, it's really gonna help us out in the long run, and keep us going on the path we are on. We don't know where it's going, but so far it's been really good to us

We hope to hear from you soon! 

Thanks man!

-Elijah 

----------------------------

Hey Austin... Again thanks so much for the opportunity to play BWAM.

Thanks -Jordan

----------------------------

Hey dude,

Thank you so much for the good review and awesome advice. It's actually interesting reading some of the things you said cause there's several of the things you said that we specifically discussed already. I've told our key player the same thing many times but he always likes being forward still. As far as my wife goes, we are always on her about stage presence and she is usually in the back about ninety percent of the time but considering the size of the stage there wasn't a big option for her in addition to her being three months pregnantzz. I can tell you that as a straight up worshipped 24/7 my hands and lifting my arms and stuff was not scripted. It was me doing my best to push aside the tense feelings and just focus on our overall reason to ever play which is to worship our awesome king and to impact peoples lives.

So anyway, I don't know if you will even read this but I thought I would just at least reply and give you some thoughts and make conversation. Thank you so much dude for our chance and opportunity to work with you guys. It was truly a dream come true for us and we had a blast. Hopefully well see you again sometime.

-Josh-

----------------------------

Hello Austin, this is Justin from the Justin Teseniar Band. We were the first band to play yesterday morning. I just wanted to write and say thank you for allowing us to come and be apart of Band With A Mission. Thanks for all of your thoughts and comments. God bless!



For HIS Glory!

Justin Teseniar

----------------------------

BWAM, 

Thank you for your assessment and your thoughtful advice. I hope you get a chance to hear the CD of original songs we left and find that many of them are more closely in the structure you indicated below.
It was a wonderful day and we are glad to have been part of it.
 
Blessings to you and all the folks at Band With A Mission!
 
On behalf of ONE ACCORD,
 
Gabriel Hoskins

----------------------------

Playing rocket town was awesome. I have always been a big michael w smith fan and to play in a building he has something to do with - well thats huge for me!

Thanks

James

----------------------------

Band With a Mission Team,
We did have a good time met some nice people. thanks for your assessment of in stereo, its always good to hear feedback be it good or bad, We must handle it the same and try to improve in all areas. your correct songs, songs, songs, and more songs is the key....we are spending a lot more time writing.
hope to write a great one soon!   
 
I believe we are headed in the right direction, watch for our front guy on American Idol starting Jan.    
 
peace
Terry


----------------------------

I detected no meanness in your words ... only honesty.
Thank you for the feedback and encouragement.
Richard

----------------------------

Thanks for the opportunity to play. I had a blast
and was blown away by the other groups. Maybe I will
see you around in Nashville. I am going to start
coming there regularly to try and pitch songs.

see you around,

Kent Hamilton 

----------------------------

Thank you for the assessment! I am going to take what you said and get to work right away! I am looking at dates in December and will give you a call within the next couple days to let you know what works and see if it works for yall too. Thank you for such an amazing opportunity just to come out and perform, and I am so excited to continue working with you and to record and get going on the right track! Do you still want me to send you some songs? I have a couple that I could send right away, but I wanted to see if that was something you still wanted! Anyways, I will contact you soon about December and we can talk more. Thank you again! I am so excited!!

Natalie

----------------------------

Hey Austin, Thank again for having us out to Rocketown, we appreciated it.  Thanks for the feedback and we will take what you have said back to the drawing boards and work on what is needed. Thanks we had a great time!



Brandon at Forever Young

----------------------------

Thanks for the insight. I really appreciate it. Can you tell me who the 2 girls were at the table? I met the guy, but didn't have a chance to meet the girls. I was just curious? 

Blessings, 

Jason Lovins

----------------------------

Thank you so much. We had a wonderful time. You guys were awsome. Thank you for the review, i appreciate the honesty and your ear for music. The critique was great. We would love to move forward. Thanks again.

Deante Marshall

----------------------------

Thanks for the opportunity.  We just got back in Louisville, and back to our homes.  We really did have a great time; coming in with no expectations and no knowledge of what or how everything would be in that setting was a good thing.  Thanks for your encouragement and input.  I hope to hear back from you soon, but just wanted to say thanks again.


Justin Mosteller

----------------------------

Hey Austin,

Thanks a lot. I really value the advice and will work on all of these things. My feelings are not hurt:)  

Just so you know, I usually don't play at all- just sing. Typically, I have a 3 piece band behind me so I can focus more vocally and entertainment wise. I also think it's easier for me to connect with audience when I don't play. It's a lot more fun as well. Hopefully, I will get to show you more with the band so you can see more of what I do in concert. 

Again, thanks so much for the opportunity. I hope I get the chance to talk with you soon.

Thanks,

Haley Morgan Smith

----------------------------

Thanks for sending it out again, maybe I'm an idiot and deleted it, who knows. But thanks for the honesty of the report. We look for criticism more than praise, because it helps us grow. I so wish you could have been at our show on that following Wednesday in Franklin...I believe it is Franklin Community Church,  it is just to the east of the steak and shake there. Anyways, probably the best we have ever played. But I am going to keep this report and keep looking back at it from time to time...

Any consideration on starting up BWAM here in Grand Rapids? There is getting to be quite the music scene, and I would really like to get involved in this ministry somehow. Let me know, and thanks for the honesty. Brian

----------------------------

Thanks Austin!

Great feedback.  I'll work on that stuff. Take care.

Caleb

----------------------------

Thanks, we had a blast. It's not a typical day when you're being reviewed by people in the industry which I think put us on edge a little. It's funny because we had no problem playing the same songs in front of a few thousand people at the Caedmon's Call show in Midland MI just six weeks or so ago. Weird, eh? But we enjoyed every minute and really appreciate the chance to come down. We got very encouraging remarks from the other two judges as well and that helps us because we know we're on the right track. As you can probably tell, we've never really focused on the presentation factor. We've always been of the mindset that we're playing to an audience of one, that we're not there to perform which puts the focus on us. Thanks again, we all thank you so much for the opportunity and the encouragement! God bless!!!


Jim Olson...<><


----------------------------

Hey Austin,
 
Thanks for the assessment and all your input. I have a lot more songs where those came from, lol, so I'll be keeping your advice in mind.
 
I had a great time in Nashville, and was blown away by all the talent:) It was awesome connecting with other musicians, and the experience in itself made it worth it. Looking forward to hearing from you soon!
 
~Sabrina

----------------------------


i just wanted to thank you for all you have done for david and i...we had a blast in nashville....now that we know what we need to work on youll be seeing us again....david and i have only been leading worship together for a couple months...and up until the friday before we played he had never heard any of my songs so we pulled it together pretty quickly.
tj

----------------------------


Thanks for the critique, and for the oppourtunity to preform.  It was a good thing for me to do, and I felt like it stretched me as a performer. I am so used to having a band, so I did feel a little awkward, but your comments were right on track.
Please keep me in mind if you come in contact with anyone looking for a "soul" singer songwriter:)
 
Thanks again for the opp. It was good meeting you.
 
God bless,
 
Zach Gump

----------------------------

Thank you so much for your honesty and this is going to help us a lot!!! We have only been playing together as a band since April with a new drummer in May and a new stand in bass player since 2 weeks ago.

I hope that after we get some more time under our belts that we can come and play for you again and we will knock your socks off!!! :-)

Thank you so much for the awesome opportunity!!!!

--
GOD BLESS YOU!
Diane Kay

----------------------------



I love having criticism because I don't really get it often enough. I have a cousin in the Christian band Nevertheless who gives me honest critiques, but I don't get to run stuff by him often.  I really do appreciate the comments because I utterly want to grow and get better.
 
Thanks again,  
Sincerely,
Chris Lee


----------------------------

We had a great time in Nashville on August 18th.  Defiantly agree with the information you gave in your assessment below.  We felt good about the trip and the experience.

----------------------------

I just wanted to take the time to thank you for listening to us on
Monday. It was a pleasure to meet you! Thank you for our assessment.
We will be working on improve those parts of our performance.
Blessings,
Malachi

----------------------------

Thanks for the honesty.  I look forward to hopefully playing for you guys again and taking your suggestions onto the stage.
 
Chad

----------------------------

Thanks for everything! I appreciate your feedback, and I had a great time playing at Rocketown. I hope you enjoy the CD. Just in case you want to talk about the music, or know of something that can help me out, feel free to keep in touch over email or myspace. Thanks again!

Blessings,
Brennan

----------------------------



It was a pleasure meeting with you and we appreciate your feedback!! We look forward to hearing back from you again soon!!

Thanks again and keep us posted if you are considering the possibility of having David Upton and his band back!!

Til' then!!!
Many blessings to you and the lives you are changing!!

Sabrina Upton

----------------------------

Thanks for your feedback! I'll definitely keep those things in mind. It's really funny, most of the criticisms we had could have been avoided. We definitely weren't as prepared as we wanted to be. Hopefully you've had a chance to listen to my cd. I think we had some pretty good hooks on the recording, we just couldn't find a lead guitarist to come down with us.
Thanks again for your feedback!

Dave Collins

----------------------------

Hey Austin,

  I just read your assessment for our band, thanks so much for all of the helpful input. We are so thankful for this awesome opportunity and really appreciate some professional critique.

God Bless,
Kyle Tilley

----------------------------

Hi Austin,
Thanks for the assessment. We appreciate the comments.
Thea

----------------------------

Thank you so much for the opportunity! We DID have a nice time in Nashville it is a beautiful place ! We just wanted to say thank you so much for the great review! you gave us a lot to think about and incorporate so we really want to thank you for that! You keep up the great work!
Love Always,
Higher Authority

----------------------------

Thanks! I love people when they are straight up and honest. That's is exactly what we need. Great info! This will not be hard to fix. We greatly appreciate the opportunity. When can we come back and play for you guys? We would love the opportunity to take this to the next level. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
 
Respectfully,
 
AJ Amyx

----------------------------

Thank you so much for the criticism and and encouragement.
We feel extremely blessed to have the professionals telling us what exactly we need to work
on to improve as a band. I hope you all really did enjoy our set, and again we want to thank you for the opportunity.
 
-Damascus Road

Marc, Are you really in the industry or do you just like getting on forums and sounding like you are? Just because you are here in Nashville doesn't mean that you are a credible source to critique a business. Don't be so quick to judge...if I were judging as quickly as you are then I would ask you why you don't make enough money to have a half way decent website.

Now, if you would like to personally meet, be involved or any other aspect i'm sure that we could set something up.

Regards

BWAM,
Here you can be expected to get a dose of reality about the Music Business. Marc will tell it like it is. Not much "Preaching to the Choir" here. Ask questions if you need more info.

BWAM! Nice Job!
I'm looking forward to adding our testimony to your list!

Look forward to seeing you in October!
YBC

I completely understand. I just don't understand why there is such negativity!! I love building people up, not the other.



Everyone keep working hard at what you are passionate about!!!

Talk Soon,

BWAM

So really, besides the rush of fools letter, all you have posted is comments from folks thanking you for your critiques and "allowing" them to come to your pay for play party.

So what?

Your attack on Mr Burnette is not cool, and comes off as a bite dog, and quite trite. How many songs do YOU have cut??? How many have YOU written in the last year?

How many posts have you made helping other songwriters for free?
Hummm let's see... oh wow... 4 whole posts. How proud you must be and those are just a vain attempt at spinning.

Check out the work he does here and on Songramp... for free before you go questioning his credentials or motives.

I know for a fact that you invited a friend of mine that can not sing or play or write his way out of a paper bag and yet you laid the complements on thick enough to get him to come to Nashville and waste his hard earned money. This man has no chance of ever making it as a performer and anyone that is REAL in the business and had any kind of heart at all would have never encouraged him, like you did. It is all about $$$$

You can put up a hundred letters like you have done above and it does not change a stinking thing. What about the letters from folks that were NOT satisfied with your trap?

No doubt that your organization started off in a great way and with a great mission. It would be great if it could return to that.

My band just showcased for Band With A Mission. We found it to be very legitimate. They followed up on every promise they made. They never told us that we would be signed, make it big, or anything like that. The only thing that they promised was that we would get a thorough evaluation and criticism of our music, and that we would be reviewed by a label if they thought we were the right fit.

The burden of discernment is on the artist. If someone was contacted by Band With A Mission and thought that playing a showcase would get them signed to a major label, that is their mistake. There are a lot of companies out there using blatant lies to take money from vulnerable people. Band With A Mission is not one of those companies.

Mr. Band,

Good comments on your business, I congratulate you on your efforts. As to if I am in the business, I think so, if being in the business means you derive all or a majority of your income singing, writing, producing, developing and guiding writers, artists and interested parties positively in their careers. I think I qualify. If by having major cuts (five) and being considered by the industry as a professional, as writing with hit writers (25 number one writers) if successfully being in a music industry town and making a living where many do not, 21 years, by the relationships built with publishers, having deals, and being considered by some of the largest publishers in the world, as in the business, I believe they will tell you I qualify.

If I do not have a suitable web site for your taste I apologize, my business is mainly devined from word of mouth, and I am in personal contact with the people I deal with so the web site is more of a prefunctory site. I prefer to spend the majority of my efforts actually helping people, which I am doing right now, as I write you.

If I sounded negative toward your business, I apolgize, I do not know you and am not making judgements on your business. I am only commenting on people who get their hopes and dreams based upon one showcase, trip or meeting and a career here is never that. It is a long term relationship built upon many people, many songs, many attempts. If you are one that helps people become a part of that, more power to you.

I do not mean to cast aspersions on you as a company or as an individual.I am speaking in generalities and personalities. I am involved in this business from many angles, from an overall career coach, to an artist/writer myself. And have seen and spent money on all of it. My focus is to show people the potential pit falls and help them avoid mine and other's mistakes. and have a longer term association with our town. In fact, maybe some day I can point people in your direction if they are in need of your services. I am always open.

I am on web sites such as this one because I was asked to be here by members on these sites who have done my workshops or seminars and found what I said interesting enough to share with others. I do not seek them out. I have plenty on my plate.

If you find what I say offensive untruthful or want to find out more about me, a personal e-mail is fine or a meeting is fine. I do not speak for any individual other than myself. What I discuss and how I discuss it comes from being someone who has done this a long time, experienced pretty much every high and low a writer can go through and manage to get through it with very few enemies and without killing myself.

If you require more information on me, you shouldn't have to look too far in Nashville or on the web. I encourage you to contact people I have worked with, Ralph Murphy at ASCAP, Jody Williams at BMI, Tim Fink at SESAC, Bart Herbison at NSAI, Rick Carnes or Casey Kelly at the Song writers Guild,
Sony Music, Warner Brothers, Warner Chappel, MCA Music, Little Big Town Music, Island Bound Music, Mercury/Polygram music, Song Garden music, hit writers such as Kenny Alphen from Big and Rich, Kim Williams, Kim Tribble, Jimbeau Hinson, David Vincent Williams, Jeffery Steele, Craig Wiesman, Rivers Rutherford or any of several dozen writers I know personally and call my friends.

If you are interested in my professional credentials, you can contact Debi Champion, Barbara Cloyd, Douglas Corner Cafe', the Bluebird Cafe', Third and Lindsley, the Listening Room. If you would like to know my Union credentials, you can contact Dave Pomeroy, or Mike Dunbar here. If you would like to know my studio credentials, you can contact Jay Verne, Larry Sheridan and Robin Ruddy, also my publishers at Best Built Songs.

If you would like to know of my performing skills you can talk to Big Kenny, T. Graham Brown, Tanya Tucker, Restless Heart, Garth Brooks, Charlie Daniels, John Anderson. As I said, I have been around.

If you would like to know of my benefit and assistant to others in programs, you can contact The Country Music Hall of Fame where I am a member in their words and Music Program. If you would like to know of my international involvements you can contact Amy Kurland, founder of the Bluebird Cafe' who sent me to Belgium to represent the Bluebird and has utilized me on many occassions, where I was the only one who fit the bill. If you are interested in my National connections, The Florabama Lounge in Perdido Key Fla. The Frank Brown international songwriters festival, or Swallow in the Hollow in Roswell Ga. will probably vouch for my abilities.
For my corporate work you can contact Electrolux vacums, Bell South, Bluecross Anthem, Diebold ATM's or several other entities I have performed and worked with. Or, in the case of Electrolux, the 110 people I wrote a song onstage with last April in 45 minutes.

If you are concerned with my current status, you can talk to Frankie Ballard, who is a new artist on Warner Brothers, his producer Micheal Knox, his publisher (and mine on individual songs) Troy Tomlinson.

If you want to know if my advice is any good, you can ask the people who have done my tours (around 400 in five years) people I have worked with in workshops in 28 states (around 10,000 in ive years, or the people I have written songs with, around 1580 in five years with around 1250 people.

I don't know if any of this measures up to your standards or answers your questions of my standing in the music industry, but I believe if you ask any of the above people, they believe I am in the music industry. At the end of the day it is not what I say about myself but the positive impressions I leave on others. I believe in that catagory, I am in pretty good shape.

Good day to you,

Marc-Alan Barnette

By the way, another five year client of mine, Julie Moriva, of Green Bay Wisconsin, was involved in the finale of the television program "You can Duet". She wrote the songs with the winners, Steel Magnolia, Josh Jones and Megan Linsey. And yes, opening shows for me gave them their first shows in Nashville and I have been an advisor to all three during their last few months of the television show. I think they will vouch for me as well.
I did not do all of these things, the individuals involved did. I simply became a catalist and guiding assistant to all of them. I received nothing from this except the satisfaction of friends of mine taking my advice, avoiding some pitfalls and doing well for themselves.

I think I qualify for "being in the music business" status. I hope I have satisfied your questions properly. Sorry about my web site not being up to your standards.

MAB

Did anybody ever hear back from this guy? I didn't know if my credentials qualified me for him.

MAB

I have to put a word in here for Indevo. They are very legit. Austin is a good guy who helped me find a good producer for my EP that is out right now. This was in 2007. He didn't lead me on to believe I would be signed. He just wanted to help out and he did.

Yes, he is business-minded, but so is anyone who wants to make money in music. If anyone was completely "ministry-minded", then they would just play at the local coffeehouse and not advertise it, give their CDs away for free and remain nameless. I could go on about this subject, but I won't....

I've been to industry showcases before and know that a lot of bands go thinking that they are the next big thing in showbiz. Then they are disappointed when they aren't signed immediately after they play/sing. Really, they get stars in their eyes and are shot down to reality at these "showcases." If they are in it because they love music or for ministry reasons, then they keep playing. If not, they quit within a year or two. This may seem harsh, but it's the truth.

To sum up: I know WITHOUT A DOUBT that Indevo Records are legit.