November Meeting Recap
Hey songwriters,
The group’s move to a cosy upstairs space at Club Cafe went extremely well. About 30 members attended the Nov. 7 meeting and showcased dozens of songs with various styles of hooks. With no need to end the meeting at a particular time, every song prompted a discussion and enhanced a sense of community.
Under the new system, I started the meeting around 7 p.m. and left to host the open stage at 8 p.m., leaving the Circle in the capable hands of Brian Junker (junkerb@gmail.com). An hour into the open stage, at 9 p.m., Heather Kropf(heatherkropf@gmail.com) performed an introspective featured set on piano. When the Circle meeting ended around 9:30 p.m. just about everyone took a seat downstair, grabbed a drink and watched some of the open stage players. Club Cafe’s manager was pleased.
So that’s the routine: First Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at Club Cafe (56 S 12th St, Pittsburgh [South Side], PA 15203). Except in December, when a concert booking will force the group to meet on the second Tuesday. For the record…
Next meeting: 7 p.m. Tue., Dec. 12 at Club Cafe.
The suggested assignment is to build a song around a song title (go to this website’s Monthly Assignments page for details). The featured performer will be Christopher Mark Jones (cjones@andrew.cmu.edu).
CD and release
This year’s album participants have a lot to be proud of. It’s a good CD, performances at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts went very well. Thanks are due to group webmaster Dennis Malley (denmalley@gmail.com) for the great sound, and the raffle and CD sales brought in $220 to help with group expenses. Additional thank-yous are due to album producer Mike Hickman (studio@fallguys.net), graphic design girl Debbi Pace (woodrose2007@verizon.net), CD bundling buddies Rosey Montes(roseymontes@icloud.com) and Bob Burt, stage tyrant Marty Zundel (martyzundelmusic@comcast.net)
Although we’re a volunteer group, our CD project and release show seemed professional. Great job everyone.
Other stuff
– “Writing Outside the Box,” Victoria Montgomery’s (vmontgomery519@gmail.com) second lyrical inspiration clinic, will be held 10 a.m.-noon Nov. 18 at Dobra Tea, 1937 Murray Ave, Pittsburgh [Squirrel Hill], PA 15217. $20 includes tea and snacks.
– Musical Theatre Artists of Pittsburgh announces the Incubator reading of Kaleidoscope featuring Carla Bianco and Lenora Nemetz, 7 p.m. Dec. 11 at the City Theatre Rehearsal Space inside the Charles Morris Building, 1300 Bingham Street, Pittsburgh [South Side], PA, 15203. The show is free and open to the public; MTAP encourages online reservations at www.artful.ly/store/events/
– Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) meets
second Sundays (except for May and December) at 6:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 1965 Ferguson Rd, Allison Park, PA 15101. Contact David Michael King (davidmichaelking2@gmail.
See you soon,
– John
