Longing for the day ...

Australian Songwriting Conference - opportunity for feedback

A while ago I signed up to attend the Australian Songwriting Conference in Ettalong Beach, NSW in June. I wanted to expand my networks and find new influences and opportunities. It's gonna cost a heap (I'm paying it off) but could be a good investment. The people at ASA speak highly of it and it has an international speakers list.

The ASC has several elements that seem useful. It has a songwriting contest within the Conference, a Buskathon, a live recording studio, lots of showcase oportunities, and pitch sessions involving actual publishers and key people who can make decisions. It's the last one that grabs my attention. If my songs are any good, I should be trying to get publishers to approve of them, right? Opportunity knocks ...

So, think when I've finished recording Alive and Alone I'll dump some of the songs and pitch them to the ASC peoples. The people listening to the pitches are from Alberts, Hillsong, and to managers with big reputations. Not sure which songs I'll pitch to who ... guess that depends on how they come out ... but I'm keen to have a go ... see what they say. After all, that's the point of the process, right?

Think I need one more stage ...

Been thinking about the three stages of album development in the multi-album project. Three is good, but I think it sells the process short. Now that I have all the guitars down and most of the vocals down, I've been thinking about where these songs could go and there's another spot beyond a band: a full studio production with session players and strings, horns, choirs ... the full McCoy for each song - exactly as it's needed to bring the songs to its full glory.

See, a band is limited by its moving parts, but this arrangement can be tailored to each song, and truly add things that even a full band can't do. I don't want to create a "brand", I want to bring the very best out of each song ... and that means treat each one on its own merits. Some might be very simple anyways, but I want the flexibility to make them all very different if that's what's best for the songs.

This, of course, would be the far extreme of collaboration - letting someone else with excellent arrangement skills and serious performance chops have a crack at the songs. See what they can get out of them. THAT will take trust and clear communication ... not sure how I'll handle that, but keen to find out.

No idea how I will afford that or who to turn to for the musos I'd need, but this idea is all up in the air, anyways. I guess I'll have to find a super producer first ... but atm it's all about me making this on my own ... let's see who shows up down the track ...