I delayed responding to this thread until I had time to really sit and read it through.

Picking up on Doug's comments about the Seattle chapter (thanks for chiming in, Doug!), we started this past Spring with showcases only. We've had three so far, and every one of them has been packed, sometimes with 4 or 5 hours' worth of performers. Everyone seems to really enjoy the showcases and the camraderie. I'm in the stages of planning the next one for early 2006.

That said, there (so far) has been zero interest in meetings. Which is probably okay since I really don't know what we'd talk about each month.

I made an attempt to put together one guest speaker/workshop during the summer, but it didn't work out. I'd like to give it another whirl after the holidays. The Gig Club in Tacoma rocks in this aspect; I'm hoping they'll come back in 2006.

From what I can tell, the songwriter scene (as in people who write songs for artists, as in Nashville) is not very strong. There are a handful of writers (Sue Ennis is local to us, I believe) but that's about it. The majority seem to write their own material.

I'm not sure how we'd pull off a networking dinner. No one can afford houses here [Linked Image] Those that do probably don't have the space. If we took it to a venue or something we'd have to think about catering, or come up with some creative solution.

I'm honestly not sure what to make of the idea of taking positions on political issues. I'd feel more comfortable just aligning ourselves with the Future Of Music Coalition, who seem to do an excellent job of balancing the issues. I do enough arguing on this board to zero or little effect [Linked Image]

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Scott Andrew
Lo-fi acoustic pop superhero!
http://www.scottandrew.com/music