Testimony - '09 Road Rally Rocks Solid!

[jlizerbram]

Amazing post. I think you've summarized so clearly our passion of music and the desire to make a footprint in the business.

[skyko]

It makes me feel so at home to see all these encouraging replies! Thank you so very, very much! I think a huge reason that Taxi feels like family is because of people like you who've read my post and feel connected with it. I wish the rally was every weekend!Honestly for the past five years or so, I felt deep in my bones that there was somewhere that I could go to be with like minded, creative, empathetic people that all work together.Thank you guys and gals for following your dreams and making Taxi the wonderful place that it is!

[mojobone]

Post of the month! As I mentioned to ML once, I researched the LA scene back in the mmf, mmf-ies, and decided not to go, for two reasons; jumping feet-first into that shark tank before reaching (something approaching) emotional maturity would have killed me creatively AND there was no Taxi back then. Though I'm sure I missed out on some valuable life lessons by not banging my head against a wall for twenty-five years, heh.

[bete]

Sky, it's hard for me to believe you were so negative when you started. You were so upbeat and friendly while waiting in line in the garage.I'm glad you found the rally so rewarding though I'm not surprised. Glad we met, sorry we didn't get to spend any time together after registration.Looking forward to hearing more from you.Bette

[ullali]

Hey Skyko.Welcome to the Rally cheerleaders club! This was my first Rally too and I recognize so much of what you say. In many ways that was how I felt too. Overwhelmed. Unlike you, I did not have any negative feelings up front, as I trusted what so many people in here had said and praised the Rally for. I just couldn't wait to attend and get all that, and I sure did.My biggest concern was that I brought my husband, who really wasn't excited to go at all. From what I had read in here, lots of spouses ends up having a great time too, even if they have no idea what they are going into, so I just hoped and prayed that he would be "infected by the Rally" and have a good time too. He is a musician and NOT easy to impress AT ALL! But thank God! He WAS impressed and just as excited as I was. We didn't go to all the same classes, (though some) so we had lots of things/highlights to share afterwards.Jason Blume was his hero of it all and he ended up buying just about everything that Jason has published AND he was ready to go home and write HIS first hitsong! LOL....I know he just might do that....well that is, after the jetlag and all. I have this vision of him and me co-writing and even quiting our dayjobs (soon) to live of our music. So this Rally was a major step in the right direction. The spirit of the Rally, and all the nice people attending, is SO infectious in the very best way. We are all dreamers, but with a goal and enthusiasm/belief that it IS possible, when we do our best.I love reading all the success stories in here and seing how people actually make it AND how everybody help each other in so many ways and cheer each other on. Next time around I know that I will spend much more time on networking and get to know people. This first time, I was much too focused on trying to get to all the classes....but I REALLY needed that too, - to figure out how 'they think' and what 'they' judge from, when listening to new songs/listings. Gosh I learnt A LOT. And the more I learn, the less I feel I know.Good luck to you Skyko on your journey, with your dreams....and to everyone else in here!What an amazing bunch of people you all are! Thanks for being like 'that'!

[skyko]

Hi Ulla,I'm so glad that you got the same lift as I did. I'm sure that there were 100's or even 1,000's of others who got a musical energy injection at the rally!I think the best part of all of it was the learning and the realization that we are not just spinning our wheels. Granted, it quite possibly does take years of making mistakes before one starts to make their way toward success, had I found Taxi sooner (and had it been as wonderfully organized as it was last week) I would have shed years of trial and error.I highly recommend Robin Frederick's book "Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting" published by Taxi. Just the short cut #44 and #45 are worth the price of the book IMHO.My non-musician wife came away with a renewed sense of purpose too! I can't pull her away from all the new listings and she's also handling the social networking for me as well as submitting to independent libraries. I can't begin to tell everyone what a gigantic push forward this will give our company.In regards to you and your husband working together full time on music - seeing it is the first step. You have that clear in your mind. It will happen. All that's left to do is just live into the picture you have created in your head. That's what Arnold Swarchenegger once said about his uncanny ability to succeed - First as an all time body building champion then as a Hollywood, top box office drawing actor (who could barely speak English when he initially made the quote) and finally as a politician."If you can believe it you can conceive it" Napolean HillThank you for giving us another boost. I can't believe it's been a week since the rally!!!!!

[jay10music]

Skyko,I'm humbled by your honesty. You GET it! You TOTALLY get it!!If only all the TAXI skeptics who are only holding themselves back could read your post. I KNOW that it's easy to assume we've got some kind of racket going on, but it takes a really strong person to publicly admit they assumed incorrectly. Thank you for being a stand up guy and writing such a detailed account.I wish I had the strength to put on a Rally every week or month Maybe what makes it special is that we all wait with anticipation all year long. It IS pretty wonderful isn't it?Thanks again Skyko and see you next year,Michael

[ullali]

Hi Skyko.I'm not sure how many actually attended the Rally?...But I am SURE you are right, that everyone DID get that SHOT of musical energy too. That's so wonderful!You BET I bought Robins book too!...(The Boss told us so! LOL)...and I have to learn to write CURRENT now! Thanks for sharing!...I'll have to check on your tips asap.You know, I believe that everything happens at the right time and place, when you are ready for it! TAXI IS awesome indeed, but I wouldn't have been ready for it earlier, it's a part of my journey....and I am SO ready now! Hey...you don't make mistakes! It's all a learning process. The "mistakes" only show you what doesn't/didn't work well, and who knows, some of your best songs MIGHT come from one of your earlier work, if you decide to work on it again or take the good parts out for a whole new song!? Like Jeffrey Steele taught, I take notes of ALL the little crazy ideas that I get all the time. Sometimes some of the ideas fit together in some unexpected ways OR lead me to another/better idea.I’m so happy for you, that your wife got ‘infected’ too (by the ‘Rally Flue’), it is SO important to have such good support at home. My dear husband has been ‘pushing me’ too, to make more music/record more songs....and you are so right! Everything starts with a thought, a dream, a vision. It’s only a matter of persistance, ‘heart’ work and time, to make your dreams come true, once you know what they are!....That is usually the hardest part, next is to figure out the WAY and tools to reach them. This Rally sure helped A LOT! Has it been A WEEK already???....Man, I’m still there too! And still on Rally time zone + jetlag.Thanks for your great spirit and inspiration too! GO for it all!

[rfrey]

Thanks for such a great post Skyko! I, like you, am still buzzing from the Rally. I get that every year, but this year I was more interactive with people that I had in the past. The energy level is amazing and to put the fantastic information on top of it, its more than words can describe. I joked with a couple of others on the last day about how cool it would be to have a Rally more frequently than once a year, but to be honest, I don't think I could take it! I'd overload my brain, emotions and everything else and simply explode! That being said, I CAN'T WAIT for next years Rally!Rich

[adrienne]

Great post Skyko...and so very true!