TAXI RALLY IN NASHVILLE -please use this thread

[edteja]

ArkJack,You are always the voice of common sense. I especially like the margarita part of the program.

[geo]

Haven't had time to read the whole thread but I would be interested in any Nashville happening.... got "people" down there... GeoOK they're in-laws but still it's still a place I can crash.. I'm on the cheap

[hookstownbrown]

Michael, your original post was filled with "what ifs". All of the negative possibilities..."What if only 200 hundred people attend...", etc. The financial risks... The logistics...I do understand.But what about the possible rewards? Think positive, drive forward... positive results are realized through effort.What if a thousand people attend? What if hotel costs are half of what they are in LA? They are, my friend. I've paid as little as $26 per night -- near the airport -- and as much as $89 per night -- with my ASCAP discount -- for a room within walking distance to Music Row.What if...What if it turns out to be the best decision you ever made?"Without risk, there can be little reward..." I forget who said it.My questions...Have you done the membership demographics? Isn't Nashville centrally located for US membership? Do you really have a commanding membership in LA?What if you tried?What if you tried and failed -- short term...What if you tried and found long-term success?What if you tried?What if?Sincerely....

[jonathanm]

Coming from Oklahoma, and having lived in Nashville (so I have friends whose pad I can crash ) I'd definitely come to a RR in Nashville. LA's a bit harder for me to get to, though I do hope to come to a Rally there soon.

[momof4]

i agree with Jonathan...for people in Central US, Nashville is much easier...can actually get there via driving. if there's any possible way to make it happen, it'd be great if you could do it - even if it's on a much smaller scale than the LA one.

[mojobone]

I hope I'm not being hopelessly naive, here, but I'm with Mr. Brown on this issue. The Nashville option is far more attractive to many midwestern folks like myself. I live in the economically depressed Rust Belt; LA prices, crime and freeways scare the bejebus outta me.(and that's before anyone even mentions 'air travel'[shudder]) If something untoward should happen, it's a dang long thumb ride back to the land where the tall corn grows. If my money goes farther in Nashville, so does Mr. Laskow's, and that also goes for the folks doin' seminars. I wonder how many more massages and lattes those big-time writers could afford for themselves if they could do without cabfare or limo service? I think the unique thing about Taxi's service is that it brings people together who wouldn't otherwise meet, no? In the midwest, there's way more of us songwriters than there are industry titans, so wouldn't it be cheaper to bring them to us rather than the other way 'round?Sell 'em on fresh air, good fishin', maybe get 'em out of LA for a whole week so they can decompress a little, make their attitudes more receptive.I don't expect a Nashville event to improve a service that already functions at such a high level, but I'll bet Mr. Laskow a latte that it would increase the Taxi membership.

[jchitty]

Michael has stated just how hard it is to pull any Rally off, let alone two of them. I can certainly understand this. I can't even imagine the costs and man hours associated with something like this. But it's still my fondest hope that one day, we'll see a Nashville Rally. I attended the small tv/film seminar that Michael held in Nashville, and I felt like that one small step did so much for my music. I met some great people too.Right now, I can't attend the 2008 L. A. Rally for various reasons. I live three hours from Nashville, so that's a much better option for me. I'd suggest that rather than having a Rally, TAXI should start out with small seminars.....maybe have one or two guest speakers. When I attended the seminar in Nashville, the room had at least three hundred guests, and that was short notice, so if people knew about this beforehand, I'm sure a lot of people would come. If you start off small, a seed gets planted, and you can grow from there. And maybe (although once again, I don't know the costs associated with this) one day, a major Rally will result from all this. Or if two Rallys are just too daunting a task, keep things small, and make the Nashville happening a 'mini-Rally' with less guest speakers and days....but still make it an event where TAXI members can meet and inspire each other....where the speakers can inspire us too. One thing also, a lot of people think of Nashville as just country music, but Nashville is many things...lots of alternative bands, jazz, Americana, etc. There is no doubt that a Nashville Rally would help country songwriters...I'm sure that would be a focal point, but people who write in other genres could attend too.Just my thoughts this mornin' I am not lobbying for a Nashville Rally really.....I know how hard it is to pull something off like this....I'm just putting some suggestions out there, and if this is not doable, then that's just the way it is.

[hummingbird]

I attended my first (LA) Rally in 2005 and I was absolutely blown away. The complexity of the organization, the number of classes & panels, mentoring, etc... is a feat in itself. As an attendee, even with your best efforts, you can't even attend half the things you'd like to, there's so much going on. It seems to me that Taxi already puts a huge amount of resources and invests a huge amount of man hours, into what most people say is likely the best music conference around. So I can see the financial & personnel difficulties that would go into creating a second event of the same quality elsewhere.Just my 2 cents on this foggy Monday am.

[jchitty]

Jun 9, 2008, 6:45am, hummingbird wrote:I attended my first (LA) Rally in 2005 and I was absolutely blown away. The complexity of the organization, the number of classes & panels, mentoring, etc... is a feat in itself. As an attendee, even with your best efforts, you can't even attend half the things you'd like to, there's so much going on. It seems to me that Taxi already puts a huge amount of resources and invests a huge amount of man hours, into what most people say is likely the best music conference around. So I can see the financial & personnel difficulties that would go into creating a second event of the same quality elsewhere.Just my 2 cents on this foggy Monday am.Actually, I certainly don't see a flown blown Nashville Rally, yep that task would be unbelievably daunting...... maybe just another one night seminar (or half day) with a guest speaker or Michael giving a speech again. Hey, we Nashvegas types will take what comes our way. I'll even bring the refreshments...my chocolate chip cookies are to die for!

[mojobone]

I think of being pulled in too many directions at once by too many opportunities to be a problem-nice problem to have, to be sure but likely to result in option anxiety for do-everything musician types; I know Michael wants us to be excited about the event and our careers, but I for one find it difficult to make quality decisions in the middle of an adrenaline rush. My .02.