TAXI Road Rally November 3-6 2016

I recently attended the 2016 Taxi Road Rally at the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles CA. Taxi is one of the worlds leading music A&R companies.  The annual rally is a three day music industry conference. There are professionals from every sector of the music industry teaching, sharing, and providing advice to around 2000 songwriters who converge from around the world.  http://www.taxi.com/taxi-road-rally-2016.html.

Each day is filled with classes, workshops, group/1:1 tutoring sessions, and open mics each night.  The rally is a wonderful environment for songwriters to meet with industry professionals and other songwriters to learn and share ideas.  

For me, the rally was equal parts songwriting and music production.  I met some of the top industry songwriters, engineers, and producers who shared their knowledge and experiences.  I also met many songwriters from around the world who share a common passion for songwriting.  It is difficult to describe the feeling of being surrounded by so many passionate and talented artists from around the globe.   I took away many practical learning's about songwriting and music production that I can immediately put to use in my own work.   I also took away a ton of inspiration and validation that there are a great many dedicated songwriters from around the world who share a common passion.  

Each night, there were 2 concurrent open mic venues in large auditoriums filled with hundreds of songwriters and industry professionals.   I was able to play the last night at one of them.  It was a great experience and I felt honored and humbled to be able to take part in the event.  The environment was incredibly supportive.   These was my first road rally.  For most songwriters I met, this was not their first rally.  

As a songwriter, I highly recommend attending the road rally for education and inspiration.  

-------------------

Dockweiler beach, a great place to park the RV for a few days.  4 miles and a 10 minute uber from the hotel... 

Night before the event, tourist...

Ballroom presentations....

Classroom workshops on songwriting, recording, mixing, and production conducted by industry professionals... 

Jamming/collaborating in several suites around the Westin.

Open mic's.....

Giving a go at one of the open mic venues....

2 awesome young singer/songwriters, Jay Smart, a contemporary artist from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Ben Whipple, a country artist from Harrison, Idaho.  

Chicago and Nashville trip

I recently traveled to Chicago and Nashville to check out their music scenes and gain inspiration for my own song writing.  As I've previously mentioned, it is the places I see and people I meet and learn from that inspire my song writing. 

My first stop in Chicago was "The Gallery Cabaret" (http://www.gallerycabaret.com/).  The Gallery Cabaret has been operating in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood since 1988 and is very popular with the locals.  The Bucktown area is just north of downtown Chicago, a hot spot for open mic venues.  When I arrived, I was struck the number of people of all ages and demographics both inside and outside the establishment.  The host was a very enthusiastic young man named Peter who did a great job of keeping the energy high and treating the artists with respect. 

Most of the performers were local, although there were a couple performers from Ireland.  Musical styles of the performers ranged from soft solo acoustic music to 4 piece rock bands.  The Gallery Cabaret is a diverse, inspiring, warm, and receptive environment for all types and styles of music.  I highly recommend it for new and experienced open mic'rs.  Get there early though because it is a very popular place.

My second stop was at "Miss Kitty's Saloon" (http://www.misskittyssaloon.com/) in Naperville Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago.  On the outside, Miss Kitty's is a very unassuming place located in a small strip mall.  It has been open since 1975.  Once inside, I found it to be a very warm and inviting place. This particular night was "acoustic night".  The performers were all acoustic singer/songwriters of varying styles and abilities and ranged from their early twenties to 83 years old.   I was warmly greeted and felt like a local immediately. 

 

I finally arrived in Nashville, the mecca of country music.  Nashville is the silicon valley of the country music industry.  Live country music permeates the city.  You will find singer/songwriters at just about every bar and hotel in the city.   Most are scratching out a living on tips with the hope of longer term success.   My first stop was "music row", an area filled with recording studios and music production companies.  I was struck by the shear number of businesses (easily in the hundreds) all competing in the country music arena.  It was easy to see that Nashville is the world engine for country music and the number one destination for up and coming country music artists. 

My next stop was Broadway street, the main drag of dozens of bars stacked next to each other, each with acoustic live country music.  The music started at about 10:00 AM and ran all day and night.  Being the mecca of country music, Nashville is extremely competitive with the best up and coming musicians and singer/songwriters I have seen.  Many of the musicians are studio players on hit country songs on the radio.    If you want to see the state of the art in country music musicians, singer/songwriters, and the country music stars of the future, Broadway street is the place to go.   

I was particularly impressed by one singer/songwriter, Stevenson Everett (https://www.facebook.com/stevenclawsonmusic/).  Stevenson was playing solo at Tequila Cowboy (http://tequilacowboy.com/nashville/), one of the many bars on Broadway.   From what I can see, Stevenson has been on the scene for a couple years, although as is with most "new" artists, there have undoubtedly been many years of building.   I could immediately see that he has a great deal of talent and a growing local fan base.  Stevenson has several live and produced videos on YouTube.  I predict (and hope) we'll be hearing more from Stevenson in the future. 

A Genuine Troubadour

I had the pleasure of interviewing Patrick Bonier.  I first met Patrick a few months ago at a Songwriters circle – Twin Cities meeting. I was struck by his deep musical knowledge including history (names, places, songs, lyrics, arrangements), recording (equipment, setup, recording, mixing), and live performance.  During discussion of new songs written by others in the group, he would frequently bring up relevant examples and experiences spanning a half a century.   Patrick frequently connected music to historical relevant social and political topics to help provide a deeper understanding of the impact that music has on society and the impact that society has on music.  I was also very impressed with Patrick’s openness and willingness to share his knowledge with others in the group, as well as take constructive input from others for his songs.  I knew I wanted to get to know him better and that he would be a great first songwriter profile.  He was kind enough to agree sit down with me to tell me his story.   

Patrick was born in 1950 in Milwaukee Wisconsin into a traditional Catholic family as one of 6 kids.   Patrick learned to play guitar at the age of 14 with his older brother’s Silvertone guitar.  During his teenage years, like most kids, he had a deep passion for the popular music at the time, particularly as it related to social issues and the anti-war movement during the sixties.  Patrick played music at coffee houses around town while being very active in the antiwar movement.  

Patrick met his wife through music when he joined her band around 1980.   They later formed a musical duo and spent several years playing 4 to 6 nights a week at venues from the Mississippi to the rockies.  They shared a common love of music that allowed them to travel and make a musical living together.  

Over the years, Patrick has collected some great vintage instruments and recording gear using the “$10/week rule” for over 20 years.   He has a beautiful studio in his home.

Patrick lost his wife to a long term illness a couple years ago.   He returned to his music and now dedicates a good deal of his time to breathing life into new songs with over 100 written and recorded in the last year or two.  He completed the online “50/90 Challenge” (http://fiftyninety.fawmers.org/) to write 50 songs in 90 days last year and is in process of doing it again this year.   Earlier this year, he also completed the “February album writing month” (http://fawm.org/) to write 14 songs in the month of February.   Both of these communities are wonderful venues for songwriters who want to collaborate and learn from other songwriters and improve their songwriting skills. 
Patrick uses some great tools to help him with his songwriting including tarot cards and Rory's story cubes. He is also an avid reader of books on the songwriting craft.  He is a true student of the art. 

Patrick says that his songwriting abilities have significantly improved over the last couple years as a result of his focus and commitment to intensive writing and collaborating with other like minded writers.  He is one of a dedicated and connected worldwide community of songwriters who understand that with within life there are songs, and within songs there is life. At a recent showcase, he mentioned that he never thought after 50 years he would still be writing and performing anti-war songs, but in light of the current world issues, there is a lot to write about.
One of Patrick's songs entitled "Day Dreamin' Day" can be found on the "Let Them Sing" compilation CD, available on iTunes. 

Patrick is planning to continue his songwriting and collaborating in Minnesota and online, perform with the songwriters circle open mics and showcases, and hopes to perform his music at house concerts in the future.  (http://www.concertsinyourhome.com/).

PS:  In looking at the online resources that Patrick is involved with, I found a great online list of timed artistic challenges for songwriters, poets, and authors.  (http://www.wikiwrimo.org/wiki/List_of_timed_artistic_challenges).  Check it out.

Songwriters Circle - Twin Cities

As part of my songwriting immersion, several months ago, I joined a local songwriters group called the "Songwriters Circle - Twin Cities"  (http://www.meetup.com/Songwriters-Circle-TwinCities/).  The primary focus of the group is to meet other songwriters to share and learn and to become better songwriters.  It is designed after a group started many years ago in Greenwich Village.  The group is led by an amazing individual named Don Strong (https://www.facebook.com/DONSTRONGMUSIC/, who personally experienced the Greenwich Village group and wanted to start something similar in Minnesota.  Don has a lot of musical experiences and a deep love of music of all styles.  Don is a kind and caring man who does a great job of keeping the group a positive experience for the members. 


The group has about 40 members, primarily singer/songwriter acoustic guitar troubadours.   The group has several types of events including workshops, open mic events at local coffee houses, and showcases for new songwriters.  In the group workshops, members are able to perform their songs for other songwriters and obtain feedback for anything from song structure, arrangements, and lyrics.  This group is a great way to get positive constructive feedback from other songwriters. 


The group completed a compilation CD last year composed of songs written and recorded by several of the members ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgxOeP7ZTac) and are planning another this fall. 


Today, I attended a recording workshop led by Patrick Bonier, a member of the group.  The purpose of the workshop was to teach songwriters home recording basics.  Patrick has ~50 years of experience in music and has a great deal of knowledge about music history, songwriting methods and tools, and recording. You will hear more about Patrick in an upcoming profile.  Patrick is on the left below. 

Patrick taught basic software setup, equipment,, recording setup for vocals and guitar, recording basics, multi-tracking, effects, and mixing.   It was a great session and all who attended gained useful information that they will be able leverage in the future.

Friday, July 22, 2016

My name is Kevin Tidemand.  I live in Ham Lake, Minnesota.  I am a musician and an Open Mic'r.  My open mic experience started a year ago.   I live in Minneapolis, a hotbed of open mic venues and prolific songwriters.  Until a year ago, I had no notion that I would become one of them.

I spent my professional career as an engineer at various high tech companies in Minnesota.   In my youth, I was an avid musician and songwriter, but as is commonly  the case, life took over.  Many of my friends continued with music in their life in one form or another to fulfill their love of music.   Although far from the music community, I had a great engineering career, have a wonderful family, and have a great life.  About a year ago, I decided to start writing songs again after a 20 year hiatus.  I restarted this process to rekindle a passion and to prepare for what I might want to do after retirement.  As part of my re-learning experience, I checked out a few open mic's in the twin cities.  What I found was rich subculture of dedicated and passionate songwriters of all ages, musical abilities and styles, and walks of life.

Over the last year, I have discovered that there is an underground musical universe composed of thousands of songwriters across the country who are committed to the art of musical self expression and to sharing and learning from others.  It is largely an off the grid community of songwriters not aspiring beyond sharing and learning from other songwriters, music for music's sake.   The music is raw and unprocessed.  Much of it does not fit into the mainstream but is personal with human stories behind it.  It is not so much about the music but the stories.  Younger open mic'rs have aspirations of being successful in the music business and use the open mic venues to hone their skills.  Middle age open micr's frequently want a creative diversion in their otherwise busy lives.  Old timers are story tellers with lots of stories to tell.  Skill levels range from beginners to professionals.

There are around 34 open mic venues in the twin cities area composed of coffee houses, small pubs and large bars.   There are websites that provide information on open mic events in Minnesota and around the country, such as http://openmikes.org/ and http://www.openmic.us/.  Open mic mic events are held almost every night of the week in most large cities.    Many open mic events are composed of performers, along with their friends and family.   It is a close community of artists.

I want to explore and experience this community of open mic artists around the country.   I'm blessed to be old enough to be able to leave my engineering gig and young enough to experience this vibrant community around the country.

Behind every song there is a songwriter and a story.  There are stories within the songwriter community in the twin cities (of which I will tell in upcoming posts) and I want to tell stories of songwriters in other cities, large and small, throughout the country.

This blog will document my experiences and the personal human stories of open mic'rs around the country.  My trip will take me from Minnesota, east, south, west and back.   At this point, I'm not sure exactly where it will lead or how long it will take.  I believe it will be a great experience worth writing about.