July Meeting Recap

Hey songwriters,

Lots of good songs, insightful critiques and interesting discussion were shared with three new members at the July 7 meeting of Pittsburgh Songwriters Circle. Mike Suley (Msuley78@gmail.com) showed off a half-hour of smartly written originals in the featured set before a jam packed open stage.

Brian Price (brianpriceprodinc@mac.com) will be the featured songwriter at the Aug. 4 meeting at Bloomfield Bridge Tavern, where the optional songwriting assignment is something we’ve had too much of: rain.

Album project

Producer Mike Hickman reports that recording is going well for the 25 participants on this year’s album. Drummer and songwriter Mark Weakland, who played in bands with Doug Wilkin and has performed on many songs in the Songwriters Circle album series, says he can be available for drumming and percussion with Mike. It’s logistically best to coordinate drum sessions on the same day. Given an .mp3 of the song and a lyric sheet, Mark has arrived rehearsed and able to make changes on the fly. Mark gets $100 for each session. If you’re interested contact John Hayes (jhayes@post-gazette.com).

SummerSounds

When the rain comes they run and hide their heads, they might as well be dead when the rain comes. Weather has been challenging during SummerSounds pre-show sets featuring Songwriters Circle members — a tornado warning alarm sounded during Alex Spore’s set — but all have handled the adverse conditions professionally and played well. SummerSounds is a free music festival that happens Fridays through the summer at the amphitheater at St. Clair Park, Greensburg. Songwriters Circle members exclusively start the entertainment at 6:15 p.m.

If it dries up, they’d appreciate your support.

SummerSounds (www.summersounds.com)

July 17 Joe Caro & the Met Band / Jessica Saenz

July 24 The Glenn Miller Orchestra / Theresa Schneider

July 31 The Deslondes / Alyssa Turkowski

Aug. 7 Bumper Jacksons / Heather Kropf

Aug. 14 Chatham County Line / Cathy Stewart

Aug. 21 The Revelers / Marty Zundel

Aug. 28 The Stickers / Derek Gabrish