Congrats to Dean receiving the John Braheny Songwriting Award. Dean always seems to inspire me with all the projects he has going on. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
I made some great new friends and had a few thousand laughs with old friends. It's funny how you do not see people for a year and just pick up where you left off...so natural.
This year, so many good classes overlapped in the schedule. It really made it tough to choose which ones to attend. So much good information going on. From Dean's class to Chuck Schlacter's to Mazz/Dave/Matt's...and everything in between. Members can really get a solid education on what it takes to be successful in this business.
I equate going to the Rally to "recharging batteries". You leave feeling refreshed and ready to record...ok, maybe not refreshed. I believe I heard "last call" every night at the lounge
But we spend so much time recording by ourselves, that it is great being in an environment where everybody is on the same page, going in the same direction. You do really feed off that energy.
This year was a little more exciting, due to the software program I developed, Composer Catalog (http://www.composercatalog.com) being released. After seeing people's reaction to what the program does, it made all those nights of coding worth it!
If you are serious about music and have never attended a Rally, I strongly suggest you check it out.
Hats off to Michael Laskow and the TAXI staff for putting on such a great event. I cannot imagine what it takes to put on something like this.
(and I have never heard so much great music played at the panels and at the open mic I was at...TAXI members definitely raised the bar this year!)
Keith
