Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Adventures of the Musical Pork Chop

Busy day today - an article made it onto the front page of the Daily Progress this morning - it's online here: http://www.dailyprogress.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CDP%2FMGArticle%2FCDP_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189239888&path=!news

Had an interview on a local talk radio show this morning - WINA 1070 - "Live with Dick & Jane", only one of them was named Rob... It was good though, they were excited and asked good questions and I got a chance to really put the word out there. Hopefully someone was listening... It was good rehearsal though for when the regional and national media get interested - I have had some good responses from a PBS station and another Virginia newspaper... fingers crossed.

One of the local "arts" papers had an article about the Top 20 givers in our area today - so I wrote them for the Nth time telling them about SongSharing and what I/we have been doing since 1994. Honestly, I think they think what I do is "cute", but not about music or the arts or the community or entertainment or whatever the heck it needs to be about to get them to write something. A private performance from Paul Rishell and Annie Raines at The Cedars skilled nursing facility seems to me to cover a lot of what they say they are about. What do I know?

Anyway, since 2003 R.E.M. has supported our efforts from way down in Athens Georgia - we'll have to get down and do some volunteer shows soon! Richard Shindell sent us CD's for theTroops in 2003. I am confident that what we have accomplished and what we are doing now will garner some extremely positive and lucrative attention for SongSharing.

I spoke to Thomas Gunn today - www.thomasgunnmusic.com - and he was excited to hear about the growth phase we are coming into. He has been doing volunteer shows since back in 2002 or so, and was part of the first public concert we threw at Live Arts to promote the organization. We got our first sponsors because of that show, and it demonstrated to me that SongSharing is a viable idea.

That's that - spread the word about the land barter and SongSharing - thanks!

Dance In the Moment,

Greg

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

The Musical Pork Chop Rides Again

Not too long ago we were setting up the PA for one of SongSharing's Community Music Series concerts, chatting about the lineup that night. The shows always open with four open-mic slots for musicians from the area, and close with an hour set by the headline act. The headliners are always folks that have done a substantial amount of volunteering for SongSharing's 3MA series. (www.songsharing.org)

It was one of those nights when a few musical friends were coming to play an open mic set and we had agreed to share some time on stage backing each other up, as we had all performed together at one time or another.

I must have begun to reminisce about the days when I didn't know anyone to sit in with me, or anyone I could sit in with - the days when trying to put a presentable set of music together with "bandmates" often felt more like being the ADHD Crisis Manager at an elementary school. The days that drove me to go it alone and put together my own two-hour show so I could actually get jobs and perform...

Then the realization came to me that I had created a wonderful thing thru SongSharing - an entity that brought musicians together in an environment of sharing and teamwork - of playing together! It occured to me that SongSharing was a sort of musical pork chop I had hung out there years ago to get people to come play with me! Not just musicians I realized, but business people and philanthropists that like to play with people like us by supporting what we do, being a part of it!

And it has worked - but not just for me. It has worked to bring musicians together - a special kind of musician in a special environment. SongSharing musicians get back to the basics - the spirit of the music they play and the lyrics they write. They live the lyrics - the peace and love and everybody get together lyrics.

SongSharing has grown to be a very unique organization making unique things happen for unique people - not every musician can do this, not everyone can find the high in one of these shows. Or perhaps they aren't ready for it - it's a very powerful high that can last for days.

The organization has built a series of venues and performance opportunities for aspiring musicians. Beyond the volunteer venues are public performance, TV, radio and recording opportunities. Beyond that are touring opportunities. First and foremost though, it's about sharing songs, and all that comes with it...

I was reminded of the Musical Pork Chop today as I was driving down to the 8.62 acres I am going to barter into an endowment for SongSharing. I was going to meet a photographer for tomorrow's Daily Progress story. I realized I was hanging the pork chop out there again, this time to a larger audience of musicians and philanthropists and business supporters. But it's the same thing on a larger scale - the Pork Chop Rides Again!

I wonder who's gonna come play...

Monday, July 17, 2006

The New Generation of Touring Musician

SongSharing is moving up - big things are happening!! Quick reflection on how we got here from such humble, unconscious beginnings in 1994:

That fall I was employed in an office - one of those offices full of highly talented, mis-utilized people always seeking to fulfill their inner callings thru special projects, not job description. As an offshoot of a "Make A Difference Day" project, someone put together a holiday party at an area nursing home, and I was recruited to round up singers, guitarists and a pianist to provide music. (He was a great big pianist - he fired me years later...)

We had a great time, and I continued visiting folks at that senior home the following year. At first I visited a room or two, and in time I was "playing a show" there twice a month for residents and staff. By 1998 my acoustic bandmates were joining me occasionally, and I expanded my personal volunteer effort to include many more area senior facilities - as many as ten at one point. I performed once or twice a month at these homes, a win/win "livelihood" that worked wonders for my performance skills and forced me to always add new material to the repertoire. (Read: Hey musicians - even you local club superstars and divas - this program happens to be better for your performance and interaction skills than playing to drunks who have their backs turned to you and think that yelling "Freebird" is still funny... It's also great for your head - nothing like starting a weekend with a Friday show at Kluge Children's Rehab Center!!)

Okay - a great livelihood, but how would it pay the bills? I "test drove" my roadracing inspired sponsorship idea in 1998 by self-producing a newsletter and successfully selling a bit of ad space in it! In 2002 I secured sponsorship from a local weekly publication, and in 2003 I began to produce public concerts to promote SongSharing, our musicians and our sponsors. By 2004 small scale success had encouraged me to incorporate as a 501c3 non-profit entity. That's about the time that local support peaked... Lots of supportive words and promises never materialized...

Experience has taught me that when I say I play for seniors at assisted living facilities, most folks get some sort of distorted image of what I do. The impression I have gotten from local musicians, media and potential financial supporters is that they think it is "cute" or something - a good idea they say, but no thanks when presented an opportunity to support the organization. I've had better response with phone calls to Athens Georgia for support than I have in 434 and 540. Musicians from Boston that play our local clubs and performance halls are more inclined to visit The Cedars than local musicians that play local clubs. Go figure. I saw a quote this weekend that a local TV news anchor turned manager is very put out by our society's lack of respect for elders. I am therefore certain she is not the one at her TV station that has ignored ten years of my requests for coverage of my Songs for Seniors and now SongSharing programs. I had a local editor tell me seniors are not considered "newsworthy". I guess Arts & Entertainment and local culture become "not newsworthy" when associated with seniors, retarded adults, and children at the Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center. Paul Rishell and Annie Raines playing in a bar is newsworthy, but playing at The Cedars is not. (I feel obligated to clarify that I am NOT referring to The Daily Progress - they have been wonderfully supportive and given SongSharing numerous spotlight articles to highlight our programs and fundraising efforts. Hats off to the DP!!)

I am glad we are moving beyond that now. I am highly optimistic that our land barter will result in positive publicity and awareness building for the organization, and I am confident that we will achieve our financial support goal as well!

SongSharing is poised to release it's first Studio Series cd, which will highlight the original music of the musicians that dedicate themselves to SongSharing Community programs. Tales of the Uneasy Writer features 6 of my original songs and a cover of a Fred Koller / John Gorka song. The cd has been professionally produced at Greenwood Studio (www.greenwoodstudio.com) under the able direction of Jeff Romano. Future Studio Series cd's are curently being planned to promote Thomas Gunn and Proutt & McCormick.

Proutt & McCormick are stepping up again to bring the organization further along in the mission. The duo has been involved with SongSharing for several years now, and spent the better part of a year playing three or more shows a month for audiences at Cedars, Comyn Hall, Heritage Hall, Our Lady of Peace, Region 10 and more. They have recently jumped back in with four volunteer shows since the Spring, and are now taking SongSharing on the road!!

In September the duo has gigs booked in Maryland and West Virginia, and I am busy lining up volunteer shows for them at senior or children's facilities nearby. Going forward SongSharing will assist the duo in booking "SongSharing mini-tours" that will consist of a paid gig or two, a volunteer gig or two, and an on-air appearance at a local radio station. Of course we'll send press releases to the area's media announcing the mini-tour, and hopefully they will respond to this new generation of touring musician that comes to town to Make Music More Accessible in non -traditional ways!

Both the Studio Series of CD's and the SongSharing mini-tours are major steps in the evolution of our win/win/win philosophy - our beneficiaries always win when SongSharing musicians come to perform, the musicians win from the experience and the related promotional benefits, and our sponsors win from their exposure as a supporter of a unique effective organization.

This is fun! Can't wait to see what the land barter brings...

By the way, I realize now that it is a special sort of musician that can even do these volunteer gigs, and I have let alot of musicians "off the hook" lately. If I try to persuade them anymore to come perform, it is mostly for their own sake... More on that later...

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Small Kingdom for a Great Patron

Inspired by Kyle MacDonald's success - starting with one red paper clip and trading up to a house in 12 successive trades - I am looking to trade 8.623 acres of land for an arts endowment for SongSharing, a small non-profit I started several years ago. (Kyle's story is here: www.oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com )

The land is about 12 minutes south of Charlottesville on Old Lynchburg Road, has division rights, and two very nice homesites. It has been "perced" for one residence (and will likely handle two, although the prior owners did not ask the engineer to evaluate the land for two homes). The homesite at the top of the land has stunning south-easterly views over the mountain ridges - looking towards Monticello...

My goal is to trade up to a 7-year endowment for SongSharing of $250,000 annually. SongSharing needs financial support as well as experienced non-profit guidance, an area in which I am limited. I have been doing this personally since 1994, and incorporated SongSharing as a 501c3 two years ago. While I have gotten wonderful support from a number of small businesses like Mona Lisa Pasta, Cole's Import Specialists, Charlottesville Press, and C'ville Market, I have limited experience finding major donors, so I am taking a renewed shot at gathering attention, assistance and funding for the organization. You can visit http://www.songsharing.org/ for more info, and http://www.graspingatlaws.net/ for more info about me and to hear some of the music that SongSharing is responsible for producing.

The CraigsList posting is here: http://charlottesville.craigslist.org/bar/181494260.html

Dance in the moment,

Greg