Dates: September 10-11, 2005
25th Annual West Coast Songwriters Conference
Foothill College
12345 El Monte Road
Los Altos Hills, California (near Palo Alto, just South of San Francisco)
Contact: WCS Executive Director, Ian Crombie: ian@ncsasong.org.
Phone: (650) 654-3966 or (800) for-song.
Both John Braheny and JoAnn Braheny will be teaching THIS weekend along with guest speakers, teachers and music business professionals from the San Francisco Bay area, Los Angeles, Nashville, Boston and beyond. Conference schedule.
Traditionally, the conference draws about 300 songwriters, mostly from California and environs … writing and performing all styles of music, some more seasoned than others. It’s definitely one of our favorite events, because there are plenty of opportunities to hear new songs (yours!) and meet new songwriters, as well as visit with annual returnees.
Unique to this conference are private “listening sessions” where you can perform your songs (live!) for just one or two music industry pros at a time, who will critique your performance, as well as the quality of the songs. A most valuable experience…
Also, you can pitch songs to the participating music publishers and producers, so don’t forget to bring your cassettes, CDs, and lyrics sheets. Check the schedule to see who is looking for what kind of music (all genres).
Marcus Barone will present his superb class (also looking for music) for TV and Film. And if you’re into children’s music, you’ll want to go to Michael and Patty Silversher’s class. (By the way, they are the esteemed founders of the organization.) Steven Memel is a not-to-be-missed vocal coach, if you’re looking to improve your singing chops. And Pat Pattison is one of the nation’s best lyric-writing teachers (and author), coming from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. If you’re looking to improve your networking techniques, you’ll love Dan Kimpel (Music Connection magazine) who has “done it all” and is happy to share. Yes, there will be information about how to market your songs (and make money) and how to be your own publisher, etc. Actually, there’s not a class that I can’t highly recommend.
John Braheny will present Basic Songcraft, to get you past what you already know instinctively about songwriting, to provide the tools which separate the amateurs from the pros.
JoAnn Braheny (that’s me!) will present a Goosing Your Muse class, with insights on how to tame your Inner Critic, design a workable career path for yourself, and learn tips for smoothing feathers between you and your collaborators.
It’s a very special event (and we’ve been to most around the country), so I hope to see you there. Wear comfortable shoes!
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