Favorite Things or Moments at Road Rally 2012?

[joemetal]

John Braheney's keynote address. It was so moving and inspirational. I was wowed that he would offer to step in despite his current medical problems.

Jason Brawner - I went to two of his talks and they were both awesome. I had never heard anyone talk about how the singer's breathing technique can add emotion to the song.

Jason Blume - great as always. I went to his lyrics and melody talks and walked away with a wealth of tools to apply to my writing.

Robin Frederick - love the Film/TV panel as always. Great examples of songs that work in film/tv. I never get tired of hearing about this topic.

The panel on what is retro/contemporary was very helpful. The audio examples really helped to clarify what the listings are looking for when they mention retro or contemporary.

Thanks for an awesome Road Rally,

Christina

[neilmct]

This was my fourth rally in a row. I've been attending with my daughter Briagha. Fantastic as always. Great people. Great fun with Carl at the open-mic nights. It was great meeting songwriters from all over the world. I really liked the mentor lunch. The classes were fantastic. We volunteer, and that is always great too. I have to hand it to Michael, Anthony and the new staff. It must've been hard to plan the rally with the turnover you had, but you pulled it off without a hitch. Everybody is always so kind. I know I'm gushing and not really being specific but how can I be specific when I love the whole deal!

Goofiest moment: I was at the Bandzoogle social marketing session. It was really great. A guy beside me started ripping into Dave Cool asking if this was going to be a waste of his time, a blatant ad for Bandzoogle, blah, blah, blah. He was very rude, so much so that some nice people couldn't handle it and left. Dave handled it very, very well, so much so, that by the end of the session the guy wanted to sign up for Bandzoogle! What?!? It's too bad that the guy was being such a butt though. The members that left missed a great session. I learned a few lessons in diplomacy from Dave Cool that day!

Thanks Taxi. Thanks members. Thanks Westin.

[ckbarlow]

...A guy beside me started ripping into Dave Cool asking if this was going to be a waste of his time, a blatant ad for Bandzoogle, blah, blah, blah. He was very rude, so much so that some nice people couldn't handle it and left. Dave handled it very, very well, so much so, that by the end of the session the guy wanted to sign up for Bandzoogle!...

That is some class, right there. Kudos to Cool.

(hmm.... the guy's name IS "cool" after all...)

[mishmash]

Big thanks to Michael and all the Taxi staff for putting together such a great event!
It was all amazing, but some of the highlights for me...Anatomy of a Film Placement with John Houlihan (wow! so cool to see that), Robin Frederick's classes, the Tim Myers interview, The 5 Year Plan (both) and the Taxi Members Guide to Success (really inspiring!)
Thank you to everyone for sharing what you've learned and being so darned nice!
Michelle

[coachdebra]

She was standing under one of the bar stools Casey.

Even in heels!

[ersatz]

Michael...

I met you briefly at my first rally four years ago when I attended as a guest. I told you then that as soon as I got home I was joining Taxi. I did and have been a member since. I love the Rally - this is also the 3rd year I've been in the registration line on Thursday by 9am. At this point I wait in line to meet new people and hang out with friends just as much as I do to get a good shot at my chosen mentor for the 1-on-1 mentor sessions....which, by the way, has resulted in signing with another library both this year and last year!

Each year, in addition to meeting many great people, and having the opportunity to reconnect with people I now consider 'friends', I always:

1) learn something new
2) learn something that I heard before, but wasn't ready for yet
3) reinforce my knowledge of something I already knew

I will never cease to be touched and impressed by the true spirit of giving at the Rally. Everyone seems to be willing to share their knowledge in what is typically considered to be a very dog-eat-dog business.

Thanks for doing this Michael! And thanks to your staff, the panelists, the driver's ed teachers, the sponsors, hotel staff, and anyone else I may have missed!

See ya next year all,

Jeff Bichaylo

[pike]

I liked every class and panel I went to. I believe I learned something from each one. Each presenter and guest was very knowledgable and very willing to share that knowledge. These people are all pros!

My favorites of the RR were:

The 5 Year Plan with Matt Hirt, John Mazzei, Dave Walton, Barry French and Dean Krippaehne. I've met each one and they are all class acts, not to mention very focused and extremely hard workers.

Film Trailer and Video Game Music with Jack Wall and Julia Trainor. Jack's time spent conducting his original score at Abbey Road Studios was mind blowing! (I'm a huge Beatles fan)

The One on One Mentor, where I met a music library owner and will be composing for him going foward!

This was my second year in a row at the rally and it was a great experiance once again! Each year my career has been furthered just by coming. I must say thanks to Michael Laskow for putting on such a great event!

[AndyKotz]

For me it was being able to finally shake Michael's hand and thank him...

I also had the pleasure of meeting the man who discovered Danny Cocke...

[JoJoGunn]

Hi Michael,
Like most other people here, I wanted to thank you for an incredible (and yes, "life-changing") experience at the RR. I joined a few weeks prior to the Rally, but had wanted to do so for the past couple of years (and was prevented by personal circumstances). I wasn't disappointed.
I have been a professional musician for my entire life, and usually as my only source of income for the past 40 years. I have also written songs (in many forms and styles) that entire time. I came to the Rally excited and anticipating finally finding a way to have my original music stand a chance of getting heard by someone who can actually do something with it.
The experience not only lived up to my expectations, it surpassed them! As you commented at one of the Ballroom panels, and I then said to myself: "Yes, I can do this too"! Fantastic!!
I would also like to say that as far as the actual "mechanics" of the Rally go, I was incredibly impressed at how well planned and executed everything I experienced that weekend was. In addition, literally everyone I met who was involved with administering and speaking were ALL super nice, helpful and just overall "pleasant" to be around - you just don't get that very much in this world anymore.
All the attendees I met/spoke with also were also very nice and helpful (if asked about something). Wow! Great job, and thank you for such a unique and helpful organization - I'm looking forward to next year!!

Thanks So Much ~

Russ