Three best things I learned at the Rally

[anne]

Vikki - you are right about the CD entries - one song per panel per member, and guests could not submit anything. They were doing that this year, at least when I passed the table a few times. I was also surprised how many CDs played were not in the right genre. OK, first some do's and don'ts I learned:1. No matter what you know or how good you are, you do need to learn more and get better. If you're willing to do that work, you will succeed at this business. If your not willing to be better or think you know everything than you don't advance.2. Do listen closely to what is said by these people! Paying attention to all of the information from mentors, classes, panels and other taxi members is critical to you doing that work, and thus finding success, most effectively.3. When asked what type of music you do, Don't say "a little bit of everything". Be as specific as possible for that conversation - make it easy for the potential buyer of your music to understand what you do and how you can help them.Other than that, I learned that with 2 rallys behind me, I STILL couldn't get to all of the classes and panels that are offered because there are so many to pick from. Go to the rally.Taxi members and taxi staff are really there to help you succeed. Use them by joining in the conversations on the forums.There is a wealth of information out there and a ton of people trying to make money on your dreams. Cut to the chase and start with the free information on taxi's site, and know that the folks aren't out to bullsh&*t you. I don't work for taxi; I just had the opportunity to spend some time with ML and get to see first hand how much his heart and soul go into creating opportunities for us via running Taxi. All the wonderful folks I met are probably tired of me telling them how incredible they all are, but I'll say it one more time here. Hope to see you all at the next rally!

[Casey H]

I learned not to forget that making and playing music is fun! When I was hanging out in the lobby and jamming with Vikki and friends, especially on "House of the Rising Sun", it was just plain fun. Sometimes we work so hard at the professional side of music, we lose site of how we started-- by having fun!Up until about 20 years ago, from the age of 16 thru 40+, I had a lot of friends who played guitar and we always got together and jammed. We went on camping trips with the guitars and had a blast! I used to sing all the time, not even thinking about what it sounded like. FUN FUN FUN! I would play the songs I wrote with my friends... We all grew up, went our separate ways, got married, real jobs, had kids, moved to other cities (I moved from NY to Philly in the 80's)... Then I got serious about my music around the year 2000. I realized on this trip how much I miss the comradery of playing music with other folks. And most of all, I was missing the fun! The rally helped me remember that it is IS FUN!And actually, bringing the fun part back is not at all at odds with the professional side. Sometimes when we just relax and enjoy ourselves, the best comes out... Casey

[stick]

Josh and Montster,We should do a Sac TAXI hang... I'm up the hill near Auburn.-stick

[montster]

Hi GuysNew forum guest here and 2007 was my first as a taxi member............WOW is an understatement!Thanks for all the support and encouragement.So much has been said/posted so far. As I'm just getting back into the swing of things from the Rally and the end of a lot of traveling.... Three things?1. music business learn/know it, understand it, use your understanding of it to your advantage professionally.There were specific things I wanted to know about publishing and the $$ flow of the industry.Big ?'s answered - Thanks Jason Blume, Judy Stakee, Kara DioGuaidi2. production quality until any of us are in the arena - immediate association and working with the big dogs, we're all competing with them; our great has to be just as good or better than their greats just to get through the door, even and especially through Taxi as the "vehicle" (your "greats" and forwards are just as much a reflection on them as on your stuff). I know what to expect now from my own productions realizing the standard and what I have to do to get over the bar!3. Networking TAXI forum? What a concept! Thanks for the "knock on the Head"........... "hello...donk donk donk... McFly.............."By the way, Josh Armstrong, I'm in Sac......... I'll look for you on the forum here, and try to send a note. I've got stuff in the hopper if you want to see what we can put together.Peace P.S. whats up w/ the Naked Cowboy?

[montster]

oops sorry about ther re-post trying to figure out how to navigate 'round town herehey stick,sounds goodhow do people e-mail one another through the forum here, like up top where it shows your "messages" and stuff?

[stick]

Click on a the person's name here, then you'll see their info. At the top you can click "Send Personal Message".<--------- Or you can click on the little envelope icon.

[mikev]

Hi - This is my virgin post to the forum.Here goes:This was my second Rally, first as a Taxi member.The 3 best things I learned were.1. Some of the best classes were the ones I didn't plan to go to, but ended up at because the class I originally wanted to attend was filled up way beyond any hope of getting in.2. No matter what style of music or what background anyone was from people were overwhelmingly friendly and supportive.3. Fri night at the bar was a great place to have an impromptu jam.So there you go, he first of many posts to come.Mike

[tedsingingfox]

Hey, Mike.Welcome to the boards. Other than the "Friday night in the bar" jam, we had very similar experiences. Two of my FAVORITE classes were 2nd choice substitutions. It was pretty frickin' amazing, wasn't it?Ted

[tedsingingfox]

AND, btw, Happy Birthday.Ted

[mikev]

Hey Ted,Thanks!!Yeah, the whole thing was pretty amazing. It's been a couple of weeks and I'm still trying to process it all.Mike