RALLY

[mazz]

Just arrived back at the Casa Mazz in SF after picking up little Winston from the doggie sitters. I'll be hitting the studio pretty hard for the next few weeks as I have a very unyielding deadline to meet but I hope to drop some observations about the rally when I can. For now, I can say that this Rally was, for me, all about the hang. Meeting the forum folks and getting an ear full about the business from some of our colleagues here that are doing it full time was awesome. The listening panels today were ear opening. What I gleaned most from those were that we all need to learn how to categorize our music better!!!!!! They randomly pull CDs to play from the category boxes and very, very, very, few of the songs were actually in that category. It was very frustrating, to say the least. Not one piece of music pulled from the Film Trailer box was film trailer music! NOT ONE!! OK, got to get some sleep!CheersMazz

[deantaylor]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, everyone. Hope I get to make it some year. It sounds like something I would love.DeanPS For the ignorant .. what are dots?

[crs7string]

This was my first Road Rally and I will go next year! One of the amazing things to me was meeting all the folks who are the regulars on the forum. It was like a reunion rather than, for most of us, the first time we had met. As it turns out, even though we all had our dot on our badge. we were easily able to find each other in the crowd. I did have a number of people ask about the "dot" and the response seemed to be a combination of them not feeling that they are in the loop and in some cases, as I elaborated on who was wearing the dots, a little bit of jealousy.I was also interested to see all various sub- cultures stirring around the Rally. We had the hip hoppers, the country folks,The singer songwriters and even a couple Goth guys in full regalia.I was always easy to pick out the film and tv folks cause they were always hanging around in the lounge. (usually with a cocktail in hand. As one of the songwriters sang at one of the sessions "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere") By far, meeting all the regulars was the highlight of my trip. I learned as much or more with a cocktail in my hand in the lounge than in the sessions. I am also amazed at the lack of any sense of competetion and only the willingness to share ideas about everything from software to insights on the various end users ( libraries, music supervisors etc.) All delivered will the willingness to be genuingly helpful. In my short time participating in TAXI and the forums I have gained far more than the cost of participation. (not a suggestion to raise fees) Over the next days or weeks as I listen to about twenty CD's of my new friends and follow up with emails of praise and support ,I'll probably be even more inspired to write, write, and write more, When you're running with the dogs you can't lay on the porch. (not a bad hook if I wrote country, feel free to steal that Nomi (an inside joke)) Tired and insired ( another hook!!!) Chuck

[rcase]

Quote:In my short time participating in TAXI and the forums I have gained far more than the cost of participation. (not a suggestion to raise fees)

[rcase]

I thought about all-ya'll over the weekend, while I was cleaning my garage and shed! I knew I'd have to pop in here Monday morning to get the scoop! I hope everybody had a great time, and came away from the rally with a heap of knowledge. For any and all that would care to, please do start a thread or three regarding your 'favorite rally experiences', and whatever you consider to be the most valuable stuff you learned during the panels, menton lunches, etc. I think I can safely say that those of us who couldn't make it appreciate hearing the stories.Rob

[reezin]

So many connections...so little time!!! First, THANK YOU! to the entire Taxi staff. The amount of planning you put forth was evidentThis was my 2nd year, so I leveraged all the Do's and Don'ts learned from the Taxi team last year. The most important pieces of advice I used were (1)Have a daily plan to meet as many people as possible, (2)Be able to concisely tell people who you are and why you came to the Rally and lastly, (3)Before speaking with an Label Exec. or mentor or one of your "key" contacts, determine "your purpose" for wanting to meet with them and articulate that to them when you meet (very helpful for me) I was smart enough this year to get my Mentor Lunch ticket That alone was worth my trip. Besides California, I met many people from Colorado and the mid-west. ****Most importantly for me, during this rally, I "personally" learned to never judge a book by its cover...In the past, I probably missed out on many opportunities as a result of not being open-minded enough to meet anybody. For some strange reason I thought I knew what a person "should look like or should be wearing or should talk like" that can help me in the music business...I painfully admit that I was wrong and stupid. There were 4 occasions over the weekend in which I met someone who, at first glance, wasn't my idea of a person I needed to meet. These 4 individuals were EXACTLY what I needed to further expand my passion for songwriting. Moral of the story...Know who you are (the good and the bad), and be honest with yourself; Check your bad habits at the door and plant as many seeds as possible for your career.Reezin

[squidlips]

Wow, some good points there! Glad you had a productive Rally and thanks for sharing that with us, Reezin.

[trentoliphant]

I'd love to hear as many reports as possible on the rally. One, because I wasn't able to go (I had already committed to a gig before I even joined TAXI and learned about the rally). And two, I want to be as ready as possible for next year.

[sunspotmike]

Just rolled back into Wisconsin after a long trip back from LA and I just wanted to say hey to everyone that Wendy and I met this weekend.Please check out our podcasts at http://www.loseroftheyear.com, we have one for each of the days at the Rally this year (I've got a couple of them up on YouTube and will post the rest this week as well.) If you met us this weekend, chances are you're in it.Keep in touch everyone and thanks for the feedback and fun. Please let us know whenever you might approach Wisconsin or the upper Midwest!~MikeSunspotArena Rock for Geeks from Madison, WIwww.sunspotmusic.comwww.loseroftheyear.com

[gitarrero]

...I'm home again in my small office in switzerland.... after a long trip it was great to meet all of you, and I think all of us were able to take something home - some education, some contacts, some confidence.cheers,martin