Favorite Things or Moments at Road Rally 2012?

[sguiles]

My personal faves were:

-Meeting Dean Krippaehne in person (salt of the earth).
-Then meeting a few people who were ALSO talking to Dean.
-Then going with one of these new friends and writing an instrumental.
-Then playing that song at the Open Mic the same day we finished it. (It WAS pretty simple).

-Seeing Michael cry onstage at least twice. I love a good softy! (Takes one to know one I suppose).
-Listening to the five man panel on the five year plan.
-Walking on the beach with two people who had never been before.
-The session with Ronan Chris Murphy was pretty awesome too.


Only regret was I really don't think I met anyone else I've "talked" with in the forums. Boo! My fault I guess.

[CrimsnSyrn]

First of all,

Thank you, thank you, thank you Michael, and to the entire TAXI staff for your tireless energy, talent, hard work and brilliance for putting together such an amazing Rally. It's truly incredible that the Rally is free!

Also, thank you so much to all the instructors, panelists, mentors and special guests for the generosity of your time and for sharing so much valuable information with us.

FAVORITE THINGS I LEARNED:
• You can kill a song and destroy the vibe by tweaking and fixing it to death (thank you, Rob Chiarelli and Ron Harris)!

• Learn to use the mute button more often.

• And without getting out my notes - I have been to four of Robin Frederick's classes now and watched every episode of her on TAXI TV: I still learn something new from her every time. She is a fountain of information!

FAVORITE MOMENTS:
• Michael's moving and emotional interview and award presentation to John Braheny via Skype. An amazing person who has taught and shared much, so unselfishly, over the years. A very moving tribute! Love and healing thoughts to you, John.

• The privilege and honor of hearing the individual four tracks of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band" OMG!!!!

• The Tim Myers interview. Such a generous, talented and inspiring individual.

• Making Music for Advertising with Robert Miltenberg - what a goldmine of information he is! I was hanging on every sentence!

• Meeting you Michael, (while watching Super Tall Paul Newman). I've been following TAXI for so long, and have been watching TAXI TV for so long, I feel like I've known you for 20 years, so it was nice to be able to finally introduce myself and give you a hug! And I'm still so blown away by how genuine, sincere and thoughtful you are, along with the amazing company you've built. Thank you so much, for doing what you do, and what you've created for us.

• Most of all, I loved the countless hours I spent connecting with so many TAXI Forum Members, one-on-one. What an incredible experience - what an exceptional group of amazing and talented individuals, some very successful and accomplished, some still finding their way, but I had so many fantastic conversations - it was like having an instant family. Thank you to all I got to meet who spent some time with me! Looking forward to many collaborations, and of course, next year's Road Rally!!!


Juliet

[fwong]

Hi all,

This was my first rally, and I was truly impressed. The Taxi team did such a great job!

1) John Braheny - What a touching interview. He seems such a humble guy, but yet he was the one that mentored Diane Warren. I wish him a speedy recovery.

2) The "Five Year Plan" bunch - It was so inspiring to hear these guys. To hear some of them have day jobs, made me realize I have no excuse not to work harder.

3) Michael Laskow - I met Michael in the elevator Saturday morning. He was all smile and asked if I was enjoying the Rally. He then mentioned since there was a possibility that Diane would be a no show, he contacted Joe Walsh, Kenny Loggin, and even Natasha Bedingfield. You could tell he was working hard for the Taxi members. Thanks Michael!

This Rally removed any doubt I have about Taxi. When my renewal is due, I'm signing up for 2 years!

-Felix

[kclements]

My favorite part has always been the friends I have via Taxi. Some of them I get to see once a year, some a few more times, and some are new, and it is always great to hang out and catch up face to face. I knew from the first day of my first Rally that this is a relationship business - and the Rally provides that in spades.

Another big reinforcing thought I got was from the Exclusive vs. Non-Exclusive panel. No matter what side you agree with (I land somewhere in the middle), we all have to be responsible - composers and libraries alike. We make our choices and we have to take responsibility for them.

Huge thanks to Michael, the entire Taxi staff and everyone involved in putting this amazing event together. I can't imagine how much work goes into the process, but I am forever grateful for it.

Cheers
kc

[andyatpaktam]

Hi Michael
I nearly didn't make the trip over from Hong Kong, thinking that it was too early to benefit from the rally after joining only 6 months ago. I couldn't have been more wrong and this really was one of the most outstanding and enriching events I have ever been to.
Everything I attended was a highlight, but here's the real stand out moments for me:
- Dan Kimpel on networking: Before his session I'd only spoken to a few people briefly, but after that I was talking to everyone. This definitely made the rally experience so much richer for me.
- Jason Brawner: Both sessions were outstanding and really life changing as a songwriter. He provided a toolkit like no other and is a truly inspiring speaker.
- Ralph Murphy with his direct insights and entertaining wisdom
- Tim Myers, what a guy
- One to one mentor sessions: Really pleased to get Peter Neff who gave me some great ideas and feedback.
- Robin on film and tv writing. It was also wonderful to meet her since her books introduced me to Taxi in the first place. I remember I was so excited first time I read them that I really hoped I would have the chance to thank her in person for such a gift, and it was great to be able to do so.
- The open mic nights, I didn't sing but I was blown away by the talent there.
The final highlight was how the Taxi spirit was shared by everyone I met. I was touched by how open, generous and warm everyone was – just an amazing amount of positive energy in one place. I really feel like part of a community now and words can't express how much I appreciate that, especially being so far away.
I'm so glad I had the chance to meet and thank you in person at the end and I look forward to being there next year (it will take me at least a year to digest all the information I got at the weekend).
Thanks to everyone at Taxi, what an amazing success.
Andrew

[claybutler]

I am consistently blown away by how genuine the folks are that work at Taxi. I can't describe the feeling I had when Michael, whom I had never met in person, walked up and introduced himself to me and gave me a hug on the first day. Or, when the guys at the registration table said they remembered answering my question by phone. Or when Phil smiled and extended his hand in the mentor lunch line and said we'd talked on the phone and that it was nice to meet me in person. For someone who's a relative nobody in this business, it's a wonderful feeling to know that are folks who genuinely care about me. Taxi is more than just a company, a business, or a service. They really are about people and it shows!

The entire atmosphere at the Rally is like that. From members to professionals, it's one big family. My wife said that she didn't want to leave such a warm environment to go back to the real world. Neither did I.

[coachdebra]

2) Debra Russel's outstanding class on internet marketing & social media. I have always viewed these things as "necessary evils", and as a result, deal with them as little as possible. Debra's incredible amount of information, and passion for WHY it is so important, was indeed a complete game-changer for me, and I am planning ways to learn and grow in these areas as much as I can.

Thanks Bob! The really cool thing for me is that I'm a complete technophobe. And having overcome my fear to the extent that I could actually teach a class about the internet, websites and social media - that was a real full circle moment for me. And for you all to give me a standing ovation. It was amazing!

As always, seeing friends, spending time just hanging out was awesome! Laughing with Bill Gordon until tears ran down my face. Watching football in the bar on Sunday.

I speak at a lot of music events nationally and internationally through out the year. TAXI Road Rally is my favorite - by miles.

[Casey H]

Debra!
I can't believe I didn't see you at the rally! Where were you hiding?

Casey

[Cat Herder]

She was standing under one of the bar stools Casey.

[heckxx]

This was my first Rally, and I'm super glad I could make time to come out (had to schedule a couple 7-day-in-a-row work shifts to make it happen). Hopefully this is will get me back on track on working on my songs...it's been way too long since I've been around TAXI!

Rob's two classes were great, very eye-opening, and actually I expected his A&R class to be a bit rougher..everyone at the rally just seems so generous, it's amazing.

I'm also surprised the forum's aren't blowing up with posts..I feel like the TAXI core here, regardless of how large the rally is, stays small and personal, which is wonderful.

This year I came with the sole intention of just learning, didn't have any music prepared...but I still learned so much. Next year will be even better.