SDSG’s 22nd Annual

Song Contest

SongWritersNotesThe San Diego Songwriters GuildSDSongwriters.orginfo@sdsongwriters.org

3952 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, D413 San Diego, CA 92117

2013 SDSG Board of DirectorsPresident Tim MuddVice President Diane WatersDirector of Technology John PapeTreasurer Help Wanted!Secretary Al TorresAdvisors Bridget Brigitte Sandi Shaner Mark Charles HattersleyPhotographer Steve Covault

In this edition...

SDSG 2013Annual Song ContestPage One

Message from TimPage Two

Honors & Party Time!Page Three

Music Biz NetworkingTracey & Vance Marino - Page Four

Creative Cornerwith Harriet Schock - Page Five

Durango Song ExpoDiane Waters Reports - Page Five

2013 Contest EntryForm and Rules - Page Seven

2013 Board of DirectorsPage Eight

2013 SDSG EventsPage Eight

SDSG SponsorsPage Nine

31 Years Supporting San Diego Songwriters Volume XXVII • October 2013

SDSG’s 22nd Annual Song Contest will be held Monday, November 4, 2013 at the Country Inn & Suites in Sorrento Valley. The contest is a popu-lar tradition for San Diego writers, and offers a unique opportunity to hear a tremendous cross section of local work. Prize winners are to be selected by a panel of industry professionals in this exciting event, during which recorded song entries are played in the presence of both judges and audience. Songs will be heard, winners will be announced, and prizes awarded on one jam-packed night, an exciting prospect indeed.

Studio West has donated a fantastic recording package. Mookie from KX96.5 Laguna Beach will be featuring a winner’s performance and interview on the station’s afternoon show. The San Diego Troubador will run an article and CD review, and will be donating CDs and T-Shirts, too. Mark Charles Hattersley and Taylor Guitars will be donating a Baby Taylor, with more prizes to come.

This year’s group of judges promises to be stellar, with Mookie and Josquin Des Pres already committed to the panel. Judges and prizes are being added daily, so please check our website SDSongwriters.org for details.

The contest is open to the public. You may join the Guild or re-new your membership simultaneously with your entry and take advantage of member discounts. Check the Guild website at for membership info and more, including ]on-line song registration. Submit your entries in advance via mail or our on-line process. Or submit in-person on the night of the contest. Up to 70 recorded songs will be judged.

Entry Form and Rules follow on Page Seven of this newsletter or at SDSongwriters.org/events/annual-song-contest

If you are a songwriter, or a producer or artist looking for some new material, please join us on November 4.

Monday, November 4, 2013 Registration Opens at 6:00 PMCountry Inn & Suites, 5975 Lusk Boulevard, San Diego 92121

SDSG Memberships available at SDSongwriters.org or at the door.

From the Prime MinisterSDSG President Tim Mudd tim@timmudd.com

In the eighth grade classroom of my skills, Songwriting would be the child who brings an apple to class for teacher, impatiently thrusting a hand in the air to answer every question and wants to be heard above everyone else. I’ve never been one to prove myself through contests, but when I decided to test my favorite craft on a last-minute whim two years ago at the twentieth annual San Diego Songwriter’s Guild Annual Song Contest, I honestly had no idea how quickly that wide-eyed passionate enthusiasm was about to be validated. Not to mention how ill-prepared I was for the right-turn that part of me was about to take onto a road that now displays many exciting signposts.

I invite you to take a glimpse down your own road of songwriting on Monday, November 4th when we host the 22nd annual San Diego Songwriter’s Guild Annual Song Contest at the Country Inn & Suites in Sorrento Valley at 7 p.m. As always, our judges are fantastic music professionals and incred-ibly generous to be donating their time amid demanding schedules. For the second year, we’re off ering early song submission via our website www.sd-songwriters.org where you can also fi nd full details of the event as they’re announced. Please remember that in order to win, you must be present for the conclusion of the event; our bountiful 1st–3rd place prize package is growing daily and guaranteed to assist you in expanding your craft as you head into 2014.

Talking of 2014, it will be a new year for the Guild with a new American President at the helm rather than a Brit-ish Prime Minister. I have nothing but pride associated with my two-year tenure in this position, the great for-ward strides the organization has taken and the life-long friends I have made. Not one ounce of my progress here would have been possible without the indelible passion and energy of Diane Waters, Mark Hattersley, John Pape, Annie Rettic and Al Torres and I look forward to continuing my membership as I ramble further through my own personal for-profi t songwriting forest.

Which brings me to my fi nal encouragement to you dear San Diego Songwriter: This Guild is a not-for-profi t organization entirely run by volunteers. The only way we’re able to continue our mission is through your con-tinued support. If you’re not sure when your annual membership is due, make the annual songwriting contest your annual reminder. Start thinking of November as renewal month so that you can go into each new year secure in the knowledge that San Diego’s strongest songwriting resource is ready and waiting to assist you and your musical dreams in any way you need.

See you on Guy Fawkes Night Eve!

Tim

Tim Mudd is a singer, guitarist and songwriter from the south-east of England. Having moved to southern California in his early twenties, he spent the following decade honing his craft between his forma-tive band and solo ventures that found him touring through North America and Europe. During this time he also solidifi ed his reputation as a seasoned open mic host, competition judge and in 2010 was Ar-bitron rated #1 at night as an on-air personality for KyXy 96.5FM.

Besides his musical work, Tim is also an accomplished writer, de-signer, voice-over artist and journalist of his local music community. Every now and again, he also enjoys taking the odd photograph.

tim@timmudd.com

SDSG’s John Pape Honored at the Guild’s 2013 Summer JamJohn Pape has been serving the San Diego Songwriters Guild in a variety of capacities year upon year, as Member, Board Member, Treasurer, and much more. For the past several years, John has dedicated himself to designing, imple-menting and improving the Guild’s web presence as our Director of Technology. Along the way, he has assisted the Board in the daily operation of this 501(c)(3) non-profi t corporation. John’s quiet presence may have gone unnoticed by much of the general membership, but the folks who manage SDSG know that John has been an invaluable asset, without whom this organization would be far less than it is today.

Recognizing his contributions, the SDSG Board voted to award John the Hattersley Fermata Award, fi rst presented to long-time Guild supporter and advisor Mark Hattersley last year. At SDSG’s 2013 Summer Jam, SDSG President Tim Mudd and VP Diane Waters called John to the stage and formally honored him with this, SDSG’s highest service award. Thank you Mr. Pape for your years of service, friendship, and support for San Diego’s songwriting community. We sincerely appreciate all you have done for the San Diego Songwriters Guild.

And, by the way, the 2013 SDSG Summer Jam was a blast! Performers included VP Waters, and Members Eric Smith, Stacy Kim, Michael Crossman, Sweet Joyce Ann, Tia Marie

and party hosts Mark & Barby Hattersley. Also performing was special guest Carlos Olmeda. SDSG Photographer Steve Covault took some great pics., too!

Mark & Barby Hattersley

President Tim Mudd, Honoree John Pape, and VP Diane Waters

Tia MarieCarlos OlmedaCarlos Olmeda

Diane Waters

Stacy Kim

Eric Smith

Sweet Joyce Ann & Michael Crossman

All Photos c2013 by Steve Covault

Having a great song is not enough. Networking and meeting people are among the keys to success in the music business.

Several years ago, we were invited to meet with the Music Supervisor of a sports channel. We had met him at a few music conventions and he gave us his email address. After many months of trying to set up a meeting in his offi ce, we fi nally arranged a date and time. It was overwhelming to walk into a big room fi lled wall-to-wall with thousands of CDs from the biggest and best production music libraries, songwriters, and composers in the world. The Music Supervisor came out of his offi ce, looked at us, and in a very serious tone asked, “So why should I use YOUR music?” We looked at each other and said – almost in unison -- “We have no idea!” Fortunately, he laughed and thought that was a hilarious answer, but we weren’t kidding! We ended up having a two-hour meeting with him and he signed 7 songs. Here are some tips that have helped us over the years when approaching Music Industry people.

• Email, don’t call. Ever. Unless, of course, the person requested that you call him/her. Email is far less ob-trusive. It’s also easy to ignore emails, so be persistent but not pesky!

• Be humble but confi dent. No one likes it when someone brags. On the fl ip side, no one likes it when a songwriter or composer doesn’t believe in his/her music. Strike a balance. And having a sense of humor doesn’t hurt, either.

• Do a lot of research. Ask intelligent questions. We don’t ask, “What are you looking for?” or “What exactly do you do?” We already have the answers to these questions before meeting the person. When doing re-search, fi nd common interests you both have. This helps more than you know.

• Do a background check. Google the person’s name and company. Go on social network sites like Linke-dIn, Twitter, IMDb, Facebook, etc., and see what they’re saying and doing. Read interviews. This is the most obvious but many people overlook this tip: Go on the company website!

• Off er something other than your music. This sounds counter-intuitive, but invite the Music Industry per-son out for coff ee or lunch -- and make it clear it will be YOUR treat.

• And, when you fi nally get that meeting scheduled, think of it as a job interview. You don’t have to wear a coat and tie, but looking professional helps. Show up on time. Have your songs ready in case he/she asks for them. And of course, being polite and engaged in the conversation goes without saying.

We always keep in mind that, like a job interview, they’re getting to know us just as much as we’re getting to know them. Being prepared has really helped us make a good impression when meeting movers and shakers in the music industry.

Enjoy the journey!

Tracey & Vance Marino are fi lm/TV composers & songwriters with placements in TV shows “The Voice,” “New Girl,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Happy Endings,” “Pawn Stars,” “Duck Dynasty,” “Oprah Winfrey,” “Dr. Oz,” “Access Holly-wood,” and many others. Their song “Carnival Lights” was placed in the Disney fi lm “The Last Song” starring Miley Cyrus. They are the Coordinators for the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI San Diego Chapter) which owns and operates The Bluebird Café, featured on the ABC hit show “Nashville.”

How to Approach Music Industry People By Tracey & Vance Marino

One of the ironies of songwriting is the stubborn quality of the creative spirit. Getting it under your control is a bit like breaking a horse. It wants to run free and you want to saddle it. The trick is to keep it running free and yet riding it. But how do you get on? How do you stay on? How do you get it to go where you want it to go?

Recently, I was a mentor at the Taxi Road Rally. (For information on Taxi, you can look up their website) They’re a happening organization. While there, I at-tended Ralph Murphy’s seminar, which gave a statisti-cal analysis of the all the songs that made it to #1 on the Country charts in the USA in 1999. Ralph is V.P. of ASCAP and from the Nashville office. There was such a demand for his information that Taxi published it in their next newsletter. He discussed 4/4 time vs. 3/4 (all the songs were 4/4), all in the first person ( “I” rather than telling the story from “he” or “she”), and there were other very interesting observations and statistics like chorus vs. non-chorus songs, storytelling vs. more generic lyrics and how they aligned with a soaring melody or a linear one. We heard concepts like “the chord doesn’t change until the idea does.”

I’ve studied a lot of screenwriting during my career as a songwriter. Syd Field talks about Plot Point One and how it has to come 20 minutes into the film. This is so ingrained in the industry that I’ve heard film stu-dios will turn to a certain page in the script looking for Plot Point One (something or someone which takes the story into a new direction). Some people consider this formula writing. But great screenwriters still do it. This is because it works. It has been proven to work by many other screenplays over the years. So the chal-lenge becomes writing something truly meaningful within the expected format.

In songwriting, the challenge remains to write a song that doesn’t break all the rules of structure, etc., and still have something unique to say musically and lyri-cally. Just because you follow every one of the conven-tions used by the #1 hits of 1999, you are still not as-sured a good song, much less a hit song. But if you’re showing a horse and it’s expected to trot and to walk

and to gallop, and you can’t get the saddle on, you’re in trouble. Not to mix similes, but structure and other songwriting conventions are a lot like the banks of a river. They help the water flow in an orderly direction, either downhill fast or easily rippling in the breeze, but the banks keep it from being a flood which sim-ply runs out over the land and destroys everything. Craft will similarly give your creative spirit direction, purpose and manageability. Within the limitations of “what they want,” you can still exercise your imagina-tion and creative spirit.

During the mentor lunch, I met an interesting writer named James, who chose to sit at my mentor table. He was a bit like a hurricane, to stay with our water analogy. He was pretty opposed to banks of any kind. He was more interested in writing something as ca-tharsis, writing and performing for himself, without any attention on audience, communication, listeners or industry. When I interviewed him further, I real-ized he was actually not as self-obsessed as it seemed at first. He just didn’t want to be told what to do or have his attention on what was wanted, outside of his own creative thrust. I can totally respect that. I haven’t heard his material, so I don’t know if this helped him be an authentic artist or made him write something which communicates only to his own ears and heart, but I’m hoping for the former. With what I learned of his viewpoint, either one is possible. It all boils down to whether a person has enough craft to pull off this isolationism or if he’s using the isolationism as a cover-up for not having any craft in the first place. Of course, it doesn’t really cover it up.

That being said, I’d like to argue for the idea of color-ing outside the lines of what is expected. First of all, my two favorite songs would not have been written if the statistics of what makes hits had been followed, be-cause both of them are non-chorus songs. They were written in earlier years, anyway, but the point is they are verse, verse, bridge, verse songs: “Desperado” and “The Song Remembers When.” There are so many oth-er songwriting conventions these songs do adhere to, but one of the “rules” they break is “have a hook cho-rus and get to it quick.” Neither song has a chorus at all, and yet they’ve been played for years and loved by millions. I am not a follow-the-rules type writer, except that commercial songwriting is ingrained in me. I tend

River Banks and HorsesBy Harriet Schock

continues on Page 6

to color outside the lines, but still keep the lines inside the frame in order to get my rather askew viewpoint across, clearly. What’s the point in having a left-fi eld viewpoint if no one knows what it is? So I believe in clarity, but generic writing doesn’t come easily to me. I don’t like it much when I hear it, even when it’s a hit, so I don’t do it easily because it doesn’t come to me naturally.

The times I’ve really thought, “I’ll never get away with that” are the times I’ve had my greatest success. Three examples that come to mind are these: When I fi rst wrote the melody to the chorus of “Ain’t No Way To Treat A Lady,” I thought the melody was much too classical, especially the leap down that comes between the “dy” of “lady” and the following “no,” both times it occurs. I thought, “this is a pop song and that’s a classical interval. They’ll never go for it.” Not being sure who “they” was, I left it in and no one made me change it and it became a hit. Years later, I wrote a lyric to a song for a Motown fi lm and made an analogy between falling in love for the fi rst time and being on a Ferris wheel for the fi rst time. I thought that was way too out there for a movie theme love song, but again, no one said no and since then, over 30 people have sung it. In another fi eld, when I wrote the regular column on songwriting which later became my book, Becom-ing Remarkable, I said things which fl ew in the teeth of preva-lent thought and certainly in the face of what the industry was preaching. I thought, “They’ll never print this.” But they did. And I get daily emails from readers of the book who are thankful some-one sees the picture from that viewpoint. In each case I was like a child hoping his parent doesn’t see the cookie crumb trail from the cookie jar to his hand. But in each case, not only did I get away with it, it became part of the reason for success of the project.

So I am not advising to play by the rules or to break the rules. I think it’s important to know what succeeds. It’s also important to know how to do what you do. If you’re a songwriter, learn to write songs. Learn it so well that you can use the conventions of hit songwriting and still not sell out. Be so good that you can write a verse/chorus song in 4/4 in the fi rst person that everyone under-stands on the fi rst listening and still wants to hear on the 100th, but write it your way, from your unique viewpoint. I assure you your artistic cohorts who are telling you you’re selling out will be the fi rst to brag that they know you when they hear you on the radio.

Harriet Schock is a multi-platinum songwriter/recording artist whose songs have been recorded my numerous artists, nominated for a Grammy and used in fi lms. Her fourth, fi fth, sixth and seventh CDs, “American Romance,” “Rosebud,” “Harriet Schock Live” and “Break-down on Memory Lane” are in current release, as well as her book, BECOMING REMARKABLE, published by Blue Dolphin. As well as per-forming worldwide, she speaks, teaches and consults in person and via the internet. For further information about her online songwrit-ing courses go to http://harrietschock.com/ or call (323)934-5691.

c Harriet Schock, all rights reserved

Durango ExpoEven with the recent fl ooding in Boulder Colorado, spirits weren’t dampened but, rather, were overfl owing with enthusiasm for the latest Durango Song Expo earlier this month. In fact, Durango dedicated a portion of the proceeds from the Hit Song-writer Concert on Saturday to fl ood relief.

As I have for many years, I attended the Colorado event. Faces old and new gath-ered in every nook and cranny of the Omni Interlocken Hotel in Broomfi eld where jam sessions, sing-alongs and gui-tar pulls played on late into the evenings throughout the weekend. The talent level was incredible! Attendees had the oppor-tunity to have songs listened to by indus-try professionals who represented mul-tiple genres. Industry guests included A & R pros, Publishers, hit writers, Managers, Film and TV music Supervisors and Perfor-mance Rights Organizations reps to name a few categories.

Notable San Diego highlights from the expo include Sierra West, who entered the “Write With a Hit Maker Contest” (Also known as WWAHM). Her song Split the Sky earned Second Runner Up in the Country category. Congratulations Sierra! Also, yours truly entered a song in the contest... Full Circle written by Mark Charles Hat-tersley and I scored First Runner Up in the Pop-Category of WWAHM this year.

In short, SDSG simply rocked at fall’s Expo!

The next Durango Song Expo is Feb 27th - March 1st 2014 in Santa Ynez California (Santa Barbara County) Details soon at www.durango-songwriters-expo.com

See you on November 4th at the 22nd An-nual SDSG Songwriting Contest!!

Diane WatersSDSG Vice President

River Banks and Horses continued from Page 5

Per-Song Payment Enclosed (circle one): Current SDSG Member: $10 mail or $15 in-person Non-Member: $15 mail $20 in-person

Song Title: CD Track Number:

Songwriter Name(s):

Contact Name/Relationship to Writer(s):

Contact Address:

Day Phone: Eve Phone: Email:

I have read the contest rules and accept the terms and conditions. Signed: Songwriter’s Signature and Date

2013 SDSG Song Contest Entry Form - Submit ONE with EACH song entered

November 4, 2013 at Country Inn & Suites, 5975 Lusk Boulevard, San Diego 92121 Contest Registration Opens at 6PM. Contest Judging Begins at 7PM

Cut off for on-line registration is November 2. Mail-Ins must be received by Oct 28.

EACH IN-PERSON OR MAIL-IN ENTRY MUST CONSIST OF THE FOLLOWING: • Entry Form: Completed and signed Entry Form, see below, photocopy is OK. One Form per song entered.• CD: Each song must be submitted on its own individual CD. Indicate the track number of the submitted song.• Lyric Sheets: 5 copies of lyric sheets (please include English translation if applicable). Sheets are not required for in-

strumental compositions. Performer’s/songwriter’s names must not appear on lyric sheets. Entries will be number coded to assure impartiality in judging.

Visit our website to register & submit entries in advance: www.sdsongwriters.org only $10 per entry! Mail-In fees are $10 (Current Member) or $15 (Non-Member) per song (check/m.o. payable to SDSG)

In-Person fees are $15 (Current Member) and $20 (Non-Member) per song.One check or money order for multiple entries is acceptable. Join SDSG or renew your expired membership when

you enter and you may enter at member rates. Memberships available at the door or at SDSongwriters.org.

• Song entries will be judged by a committee consisting of in-dustry professionals and songwriters. Judges will score entries on five criteria: lyrics, melody, form, originality and presen-tation. All styles of music are eligible, but instrumentals will receive no lyric score.

• Each entry must be the contestant’s original work. • Contestants and their collaborators retain all rights to works

submitted, but entries will not be returned by SDSG.• Contest is open to amateur songwriters, meaning one who has

not been employed as a staff writer for a publishing company, who is not being paid for such services, and/or who has not received more than $2,500 in song royalty income within the past year. No song previously recorded and released through major national distribution in any country is eligible.

• Past Grand Prize (Platinum) winners of the San Diego Song-writer’s Guild Song Contest are not eligible to enter the con-test. All other previous entrants are eligible.

• The contest is open to songwriters who are 18 years of age or older on the date of entry submission. Any entrant who is a minor in his or her jurisdiction of legal residence must submit written permission from his or her parent or legal guardian to participate in the contest.

• Entrants (or a representative) must be present at the awards presentation on November 4, 2013 to win. Entrants who are not present or personally represented at the awards presentation will be disqualified from consideration for prizes and awards.

• Prize winning songs from prior SDSG Song Contests may not be entered. This does not include songs from SDSG Perform-ing Songwriters contests.

• Prizes for this year’s contest have yet to be determined. Check out prizes from prior years at our website Note: many of the prizes are “San Diego” based and can only be redeemed in San Diego stores, offices, and studios.

• Winners are responsible for division of prizes and taxes.• No more than 70 entries will be accepted.• A maximum of two of entries will be accepted per writer. Co-

writes count proportionately toward this total. (For example: an entry with two writers counts as 1/2 of one entry for each writer.) SDSG reserves the right to limit entries further.

• Entries that violate these rules may be disqualified, and submit-ted fees will not be returned. All judges’ decisions are final.

• SDSG is not responsible for late, lost, damaged, misdirected, postage due, stolen, or misappropriated entries.

SAN DIEGO SONGWRITERS GUILD • 2013 SONG CONTEST RULES

Please Print Legibly

PresidentTim Mudd

Vice PresidentDiane Waters

Director of TechnologyJohn Pape

SecretaryAl Torres

Advisors to the BoardMark Charles HattersleyNewsletter / Past President

Sandi ShanerPast President

Bridget BrigittePast President

PhotographerSteve Covault

SDSG Board of Directors 2013

SDSG welcomes volunteers... this organization is run entirely by unpaid volunteers, and your help in making us stronger and better will be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to approach a Board Member anytime, or contact us via our website, sdsongwriters.org, if you would like to become involved in the Guild operations.

Remember: Membership dues allow the Guild to conduct our meetings... please keep your current.

2013 SDSG EventsJanuary 14 Pitch Session with Durango Song Expo’s Jim Attebery

March 18 Song Evaluations with Michael Laskow of TAXI.

May 10 Work In Progress Seminar with Diane Waters & Mark Charles Hattersley

June 29 SDSG’s Summer Jam at Rancho Bohemia

September 9 Cyber Workshop with Tim Mudd

November 4 22nd Annual Song Contest

StudioWestRecording in San Diego since 1971Our 8,000 square-foot facility features three world-class recording studios that complement each other in form and function, allowing our clients the freedom to take a project from inception to completion in a cost eff ective and effi cient manner within an en-vironment that provides total support for the creative process. We also house The Recording Arts Center, San Diego’s only Avid Authorized Training Partner. Check us out at StudioWest.com.

For more about StudioWest contact us at 858 592 9497 or via email Jesse@StudioWest.com

The San Diego Troubadour sandiegotroubadour.com

Beaird Music Group beairdmusicgroup.com800-229-3308 contact@beairdmusicgroup.com

Studio West studiowest.comJesse@StudioWest.com 858 592 9497

Mark Charles Hattersley - Rancho Bohemia Studios Mark@RagingBohemian.com 619 823 3917

Sandi Shaner and Speaker Eventions858 27 7685 Sandi@SpeakerEventions.com

Steve Covault Photographystevecovault.com StevePhotoMan@gmail.com

Taylor Guitars taylorguitars.com

Annie Rettic Melaleuca Productsann_rettic@yahoo.com

Mediatunes Web Designportfolio.mediatunes.com john@mediatunes.com

SDSG

Spo

nsor

s Rancho Bohemia studios

Producer-Keyboardist-Engineer

Mark Charles Hattersley

Mark@RagingBohemian.com

619 823 3917

Beaird Music Group, Inc. is the premier Nash-ville recording studio and service. Located in the heart of Nashville, our recording complex houses three studios. Whether you are an art-ist looking to record an entire album or a writer looking to record demos of your songs, Beaird Music Group takes care of the recording process from start to fi nish. beairdmusicgroup.com

SongWritersNotesThe San Diego Songwriters Guild

3952 Clairemont Mesa Blvd Suite D413 San Diego, CA 92117

Address Correction Requested

San Diego Songwriters Guild

22nd Annual SDSG SONG CONTESTRegister in Now On-Line! Monday, November 4

John Pape Honored SDSG Summer Jam Event Review

From the Prime MinisterSDSG Presidente Tim Mudd

Approaching Industry PeopleTracey & Vance Marino

River Banks and Horsesby Harriet Schock

SDSG Scores at Durango Diane Waters Reports

SDSongwriters.org

info@sdsongwriters.org

Approaching Industry People