First time at the Rally

[adrienne]

Hi Everyone. My name is Adrienne Leopold and while I've been a TAXI member for several years, I'll be attending my first Rally this year. I'm a singer and songwriter, with my primary genre being country. I've received about 25 forwards since I joined but only one deal with a licensing company, and no cuts yet But I'm still trying!I've been reading a lot of the advice on the boards, particularly about the rally and found it very helpful...thank you! I do have a few questions...1) How many songs should I put on my demo CD to distribute out to industry people? Is 4 songs the way to go? I also have a combination of song demos which are sung by demo singers and some sung by myself. But with the exception of one song, I feel that my best written songs are demos sung by others. Is it okay to include a mixture on my demo CD? Should I indicate it somehow or just title it "Songwriter Demo"2) I'm very...okay, let me rephrase that...VERY shy. One of the scariest things about this experience for me will also be the reason I'm going - to meet people! Fellow songwriters, potential co-writers, industry folks. I know this sounds ridiculous, but what do you say to strangers? I've never been good at networking and one thing I've always struggled with is how to engage in a conversation that gets others to want to know you and hear your music? I find it very hard to get to know people or for them to get to know me. I never know how to start!Thanks everyone. Look forward to hopefully meeting some of you...and hopefully I won't be too shy to say hi Adrienne

[adrienne]

Oh and one more question.How do the Listening Panels work? From the descriptions, I'm not sure which genres each one is for? Can I enter more than one and if not, how do we find out the genres so we know which one to enter? (I'm looking for the country panel).Thanks again!!

[tedsingingfox]

Hey, Adrienne.First off, welcome to the forums. One of the greatest places on the entire web.Secondly, I can tell you one simple piece of advice (which I used last year) that will totally change the way you think/feel about being shy at the Rally. If you are a TAXI member and you are attending the Rally, then that means you are a "Dot".There are close to 3000 people at the Rally. Last year, many of the forum members decided that the best way we could hope to find each other in the mobs was to wear a little colored dot (like the colored price tags you can stick on things which you buy at Wal-Mart) on our Rally I.D. badges, one for each side of the badge. It worked like a charm, and NONE of us had to spend a single minute alone unless we WANTED to be alone.You will never EVER regret the $2 investment. These are the most loving, supportive, coolest, friendliest people you may EVER know, and certainly the most attuned into the same dreams and lifestyle (that of the committed, struggling, BELIEVING musician) as yourself.And anytime you spot someone else with a DOT on their badge, you will automatically know they are also a part of this amazing, sharing, giving, supportive internet community.Please, make sure to introduce yourself. It will totally CHANGE your life. It absolutely changed mine.Looking forward to meeting you.Ted

[Casey H]

Oct 9, 2008, 3:47pm, adrienne wrote:I'm very...okay, let me rephrase that...VERY shy. One of the scariest things about this experience for me will also be the reason I'm going - to meet people! Fellow songwriters, potential co-writers, industry folks. I know this sounds ridiculous, but what do you say to strangers? I've never been good at networking and one thing I've always struggled with is how to engage in a conversation that gets others to want to know you and hear your music? I find it very hard to get to know people or for them to get to know me. I never know how to start!Thanks everyone. Look forward to hopefully meeting some of you...and hopefully I won't be too shy to say hi AdrienneAdrienneJust make sure you where a few dots on your badge so those of us from the forum will know you. If you wear dots, we won't let you be shy!!! I wouldn't mix produced and non-produced songs on CDs.A four song demo of well-produced songs is fine. Show of your best and they can ask for more if they want. Make sure the CD looks professional with your title list and contact info. The contact info should be on both the CD and the case or sleeve. If you have other non-produced songs you should bring some CDs with those too in case you are in any classes or sessions about pure songwriting, especially your mentor meeting. Although you should have a bunch of CDs with you to give out, it is often more effective, instead of giving a CD to an A&R person, to get their contact info and follow up with a CD later. These folks get so many CDs at the rally that they get overloaded and sometimes don't listen to them.Feel free to ask questions here!! After you meet us, you will never be shy again... LOL Casey

[davewalton]

Oct 9, 2008, 3:47pm, adrienne wrote:Hi Everyone. My name is Adrienne Leopold and while I've been a TAXI member for several years, I'll be attending my first Rally this year. I'm a singer and songwriter, with my primary genre being country. I've received about 25 forwards since I joined but only one deal with a licensing company, and no cuts yet But I'm still trying!I've been reading a lot of the advice on the boards, particularly about the rally and found it very helpful...thank you! I do have a few questions...1) How many songs should I put on my demo CD to distribute out to industry people? Is 4 songs the way to go? I also have a combination of song demos which are sung by demo singers and some sung by myself. But with the exception of one song, I feel that my best written songs are demos sung by others. Is it okay to include a mixture on my demo CD? Should I indicate it somehow or just title it "Songwriter Demo"2) I'm very...okay, let me rephrase that...VERY shy. One of the scariest things about this experience for me will also be the reason I'm going - to meet people! Fellow songwriters, potential co-writers, industry folks. I know this sounds ridiculous, but what do you say to strangers? I've never been good at networking and one thing I've always struggled with is how to engage in a conversation that gets others to want to know you and hear your music? I find it very hard to get to know people or for them to get to know me. I never know how to start!Thanks everyone. Look forward to hopefully meeting some of you...and hopefully I won't be too shy to say hi AdrienneWelcome and all that good stuff. First, get your Dot...http://taxi.proboards27.com/index.cgi?b ... 1#86152The whole "Dot" thing, immediately meeting and quickly getting to know the other forum members goes a long way toward feeling comfortable and immediately being a part of the whole thing. It's MUCH easier (I think) to overcome shyness by being in a "pack". For me at least, I can "hang" around a group, bouncing from one conversation to another periodically, a LOT more comfortably than sitting one on one trying to think of clever things to say to keep the conversation going. Anyway, within your new found "Dot" friends, there will be plenty of time to practice what you'd say to a mentor or panelist or whatever. As far as how many songs... I think it's simplist to break it down to say maybe three to six tracks. Bottom line is present your best material no matter what, even if your best is only one or two tracks. "Filler" material won't be a good idea. Neither will a CD of "100 of your best songs".

[adrienne]

Thanks everyone for the replies and warm welcome. I will definitely look into the dot thing! I've come a long way when it comes to my shyness, but this is a new thing for me and even with all I've read about the Rally, I still don't know just what to expect. The unknown never helps but hopefully once I'm there and meet all you friendly people, I'll feel more at ease It's a little unnerving knowing that anyone you meet at the Rally could impact your career and at the same time, not knowing if you've made the right impression! It's all part of the journey I guess

[ottlukk]

Adrienne: 25 Forwards?!!!! You've got nothing to be shy about.Ott

[adrienne]

Thanks Ott. But only one has contacted me so far so no song cuts. But hopefully that will not be too far off

[hummingbird]

Quote:1) How many songs should I put on my demo CD to distribute out to industry people? Is 4 songs the way to go? I also have a combination of song demos which are sung by demo singers and some sung by myself. But with the exception of one song, I feel that my best written songs are demos sung by others. Is it okay to include a mixture on my demo CD? Should I indicate it somehow or just title it "Songwriter Demo"if you're pitching SONGS, as opposed to yourself as an artist, then list the songs according to genre & put your name & contact information with the title "songwriter". I'd assume they would only have time to listen to one song... so put your best demo of your best uptempo song in whatever genre... first. I'd stick to 3 or 4, and have only one ballad, last.Quote:2) I'm very...okay, let me rephrase that...VERY shy. One of the scariest things about this experience for me will also be the reason I'm going - to meet people! Fellow songwriters, potential co-writers, industry folks. I know this sounds ridiculous, but what do you say to strangers? I've never been good at networking and one thing I've always struggled with is how to engage in a conversation that gets others to want to know you and hear your music? I find it very hard to get to know people or for them to get to know me. I never know how to start!Adrienne, I call myself "the shy singer" for a reason. I totally know how it feels to be intimidated by the crowds and by the number of people you don't know. Here's what I do... I assume the person next to me is shy... and I start a conversion by asking these questions, "hi, my name is Vikki, what's yours? So, where are you from? Is this your first Rally? What do you do? (in response to their reply... write songs or produce or whatever) What genre?" In other words, be genuinely interested in who they are and what they do... and the conversation takes off and pretty soon they're chatting away with you... and there you go.Please, WEAR A DOT, when you get your name tag. Look for the other Dots in the sunken area of the bar... and most especially, look for me, and come up and say hi.If you want to know a little more about my story... here's a thread on my Rally experiences... http://taxi.proboards27.com/index.cgi?b ... ad=8945and here's a link to the shy singer's bio... http://www.vikkiflawith.com/bio.htmllook forward to meeting you!Hummin'bird

[hummingbird]

Oct 9, 2008, 4:09pm, adrienne wrote:Oh and one more question.How do the Listening Panels work? From the descriptions, I'm not sure which genres each one is for? Can I enter more than one and if not, how do we find out the genres so we know which one to enter? (I'm looking for the country panel).Thanks again!! This info will be in the final schedule. You can enter one song for each panel... assuming they have a box with your genre. I think everything but the first panel would accept country.