For the love of Rally, post your highlight here!

[Casey H]

I got to see Vikki (along with future boardies Rachel and James) perform at an open mic. Vikki and Rachel did some beautiful harmonies and seeing Vikki's moment in the limelight was another big highlight for me. Casey

[Casey H]

I was blown away by the level of talent represented at the rally. Some of the people I met were incredible. While waiting for Saturday's smaller open mic to start, they were playing a CD from someone in the audience. I got to hear music by one heckuva talented young lady- Melinda Davis. This song blew me away:"The Best of Me" at:http://www.broadjam.com/player/playerho ... 159312More about her on myspace at:www.myspace.com/melindajdavis Casey

[horacejesse]

Quote:Okay, you're kidding, right?Chit, you must think I am a hilarious guy if that is an example of my kidding.

[jchitty]

Quote:Quote:Okay, you're kidding, right?Chit, you must think I am a hilarious guy if that is an example of my kidding.Didn't realize that you'd be gone a while from the boards (or when this was being discussed) and that you had to connect the dots. Glad the folks here gave you some explanations.

[kg]

Quote:Somehow I doubt Kelly would be up for that. I have to say that could probably single handedly kill my look and at the same time be slightly terrifying for those around me hahahahaha. Maybe I'll be an O.D. (Original Dot) sponsor and force you all to wear my t-shirts.

[Casey H]

Well this highlight didn't happen, but it might have been funny (fantasy) if it did... People kept coming up and asking us what the dots on the badges meant. I suggested we tell people each dot represented a hit song we wrote. Then we could see if people would follow us around like Gods... And I think it was Ted that said, "yea, AND THINK OF ALL THE GROUPIES!!!" Casey

[ccwheaton]

Hey you guys... I had so many highs (natural, except for Sunday's Sobe Adrenaline drink) that I had an inevitable crash when I got home (I'm really sick)... I guess for me that level of expansion is followed by contraction.... but where do I begin? The people were awesome. That means you!! The "alternative" open mic was really fun-- I loved both hearing people and finally getting up there myself. I loved the hallway jams, working out harmonies and call-and-response backups on each other's songs. I loved the close, warm feeling of singing together and for each other... the feeling of being in this sea of creativity... the caring I felt from teachers and mentors. I had fantastic mentoring sessions with Alan Abrahams, Jason Blume, Pat Luboff (I just adore her) and Joanne Ledesma. (Yeah, I paid money for 3/4 of those, and skipped a couple of meals, but it was worth it!!). I loved classes with John Braheny, Pat Pattison, the Luboffs, Steve Memel.... I loved the whole thing. More later xoxo Carey

[asiabackpacker]

Hey guys!I'm pretty new around here. I just joined Taxi last week, just in time to attend the Rally, and let me say, there were a couple classes that alone were worth the $300 Taxi membership to me.Kenny Kerner gave an ass-kicking talk that made me feel like I know exactly what I need to do to be successful as a songwriter and an artist. For those of you that weren't there, the main gist of his talk was that "good enough" is not good enough. I realized that if I'm going to pursue this, I have to strive to be the best possible talent that I can be (something I can tell a lot of you guys have already realized and lived, listening to some of your music and reading your bios)...The whole experience was truly enlightening...definitely the best thing I've ever done to get serious about pursuing a career in music. After the Rally, I now feel for the first time in my life like I really am serious about music, AND I feel like I know what I need to do to succeed. Now I just need to get out there and do it!Also, I never studied music in college. If I had the chance to go back again, I probably would, and I've always kind of wished that I did. But the Rally felt like about 6 months of a college music degree all crammed into one weekend! Maybe after a few more years, I'll feel like I have the full degree Looking forward to being part of this community, and now really getting serious about my music career!Elliott

[stick]

Elliott,Glad you dug the Rally... I did too. I wouldn't worry about not having a degree in music. Songwriting requires a lot of skill, and most traditional college music degrees don't generally teach songwriting. Now if you want to go to Berklee... and even music theory or whatever applies, but not as directly as you might think. You probably have a better feel for how the chord changes are "supposed" to work in your genre than any understanding how Bach or Mozart used harmony would give you. Songwriting is so personal, and the parameters of genre can be found in lots of books, or better yet on all of your favorite CDs. Now, on the production/recording/mixing side, I learned tons in college. But, the face of home recording has really changed since then, and there is so much info on the internet or via instructional DVDs or whatever. And besides, most of what works best for me might not work for you at all! The basic philosophy for recording: If it sounds good, it IS good.

[dbhaddock]

Quote:Quote:One highlight for me was hearing the original Marvin Gaye vocal track from "Heard it through the Grapevine" at the Recording workshop with Rob Chiarelli. Dry. Incredible and moving with all the vibe a person could handle. And the demo version of the Eagles singing "Take It Easy". Dare I say revelatory.Actually, being in the room next door and trying over and over again to hear what Pat Pattison was saying against the outrageous volume at which Marvin Gaye/The Eagles were being played, that moment was one of my least favorite. That's fair enough. Maybe that's something the Rally organizers might need to consider next time when they're programming classes next door to each other in a room with just a divider. I must admit I did feel a bit badly for you folks next door cause I knew we were loud. It didn't diminish my appreciation for what was going on in our side, but I knew that it was making it difficult on yours.