Featured on the bill for the night:

Abigail Blythe – http://www.facebook.com/abigailblythemusic
Ryan Kenney – http://www.facebook.com/ryankenneymusic
Paper Lantern – http://www.facebook.com/PaperLanternMusic

This evening of musical mayhem will only cost you FIVE greenbacks. That’s right, $5.

By this time, there will be new tunes and tight tunes and maybe you’ll even know the words to a song or two.

Consider it a date.

And have you liked our page yet? www.facebook.com/constablesband

This year, expect a series of entertaining events, starting off with our:

Info Night
Monday, January 30th
Tom Jackson Building (MTSU Campus, near the Alumni Memorial Gym)
7:00PM

Info Night will introduce rushees to the foundation of the organization, as well as the projects that members can get involved with.

The rest of the week’s events are as follows:

Associate Interviews
Tuesday, January 31st
Bonhoeffer’s at Cross Point Church (610 Dill Lane, near Tractor Supply Co. on Memorial Blvd)
6:30PM

Billiards Night
Wednesday, February 1st
Revolver (Inside Clarion Inn, 2227 Old Fort Parkway)
7:00PM

Interview Night
Thursday, February 2nd
1505 Leaf Ave
7:00PM
*Interview Attire* (Men- slacks and ties; Women- dresses or slacks)

Songwriter Potluck
Friday, February 3rd
Bonhoeffer’s at Cross Point Church (610 Dill Lane, near Tractor Supply Co. on Memorial Blvd)
7:00PM

The week ends with a celebration of music and food, provided by the membership.

Rushees with serious interest should intend to attend at least three of the week’s events.

Check out omegadeltapsi.com for more information, and email omegadeltapsi@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Want to relive the magic of SGRRC 2011? Did you miss the SGRRC Camper Showcase back in July? Or are you new to the SGRRC community and curious to find out more about how camp works?

On Friday January 20th, the 2011 Camper Showcase Film will premier on the big screen atPatterson Park Community Center in Murfreesboro, TN, and if any of these sound like you, it’s the perfect fit! Campers, volunteers, and community members are invited to dress their best and reconnect with friends at this red carpet reunion event.

Get psyched to see camper bands

The Cake is Not a Lie, You Got Femail, The Pink Fluffy Unicorns, Bad Hair Day, Stereo Heartbeat, Would You Rather, Prose and Khans, Caution to the Wind, Banshee Boardwalk, The Musticians, The Rural Juror, and Muktuk

–performing on the big screen!

Doors open at 7:30pm on Friday January 20th, and the film begins at 8:00pm.

All 2011 and registered 2012 campers get in for free.

Tickets for non-campers are $5 in advance online or $7 at the door, and come with a 50% discount code for a download of the entire showcase film. The film will be available for download for $9.99 in its entirety, or in individual performance clips for $1.99 each. All downloads become available starting the day after the premier, on Saturday January 21st.

Visit here for presale tickets.

Ryan Kenney

Eli Rhodes

Sarah Turner

Mike Short Jr. and State Wide

At the Walnut House on December 2nd. Doors at 9. 5$ cover.

Be there, or be square!

The room was a buzz of excited energy, radiating from the members of MTSU’s coed recording industry fraternity Omega Delta Psi. There was excitement on each member’s face as they waited for the upcoming lecture from professional songwriter, J. Hart.

Aston Streifert, a junior majoring in music business, entered the room and took her place at the podium in front of the room to introduce Hart.

After Streifert’s smooth introduction of the songwriter, the young man with shaggy dark hair, energetic blue eyes, and friendly mannerisms took Streifert’s place at the podium. With a crisp, polite English accent, he began the speech about his personal journey through the creative world of pop songwriting.

James Abrahart, better known as J. Hart, was born in England and began his musical career with the intent of singing instead of songwriting.

“I used to sing. I would sing covers of songs, and then I wanted to write songs—my own songs. When I started writing my own songs, I realized that I liked that aspect of it more than actually performing,” Abrahart said.

With Hart’s mind set on songwriting, he left the humble streets of England and moved to Atlanta, Ga., where he attended Savannah College of Art and Design, and then Georgia State.

It took time for Hart to network his way through the Atlanta music scene, but Hart finally experienced his first taste of songwriting fame when he worked with the artist Mya.

“Somehow or another I ended up with a placement on a Mya record in Japan that went to number one,” Hart said.

This success paired with other ambitious projects by Hart led him to be noticed by the company Universal Rondor in L.A. where his career has taken on a life of its own and has blossomed into a rewarding experience for the young songwriter.

Hart’s success did not come easy. It hours of hard work and commitment for him to gain a bright career as a songwriter.

“There were a lot of times when I could have hung out with friends or put music in the back seat, but I decided not to. I think that my social life has definitely suffered, but I think that my professional career has been great. I think you have to sacrifice a lot,” he said.

Hart’s dedication has thrown him into the field with some of the best artists and songwriters in pop music. Hart has worked with musicians including  Jordin Sparks, David Guetta, Paul Oakenfold, Pia Toscano, Cee Lo Green, and other pop music scene innovators.

During Hart’s speech, he also discussed the politics of pop music along with the art of the perfect pop song.

“There’s definitely a formula for a making the perfect pop song. The people that get it are the people that have hit after hit after hit. You need an infectious melody and lyrical content that’s catchy and fresh and original,” Hart said.

Politics, for pop music, is the key to being successful in the songwriting business. Hart advised the students on knowing how to sell themselves and how to properly network through the world of pop music due to how competitive the industry has become.

“I think the biggest thing is knowing how much politics plays a role especially in top 40 music,” Hart said.  “I’ve known so many talented people that are just not getting cuts because they don’t know how to sell themselves, and they don’t know how to get people talking about them.”

Credit goes to Jackiie Rippee and the Sidelines Newspaper.

$5 – Doors at 8:00, Show at 9:00

Sky Hi gets funky at 11:30
http://www.facebook.com/skyhifunk

The Joy of Painting jamz at 10:15
http://www.facebook.com/joyofpainting

Carl P. and The Magic 3 grooves at 9:00
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carl-Pemberton/166161640982

Visit http://bit.ly/odpfunk to listen to some tunes from the bands!

All proceeds from this show will go towards a scholarship for Recording Industry students at MTSU.

Hart started his career at 18 with his internship with Polo the Don. During the talkback, when questioned on what kind of work he did during his internship he responded,
“That’s rich… I started out doing really annoying…[Bitch] work… took out the trash, food orders, things that no one else in the studio wanted to do. I feel like they made me do things that were crazy. I look back and can’t believe I did all that. I worked my way up from there and made relationships and I started doing things like assisting. Got to sit in on sessions… like with Usher…”

After giving us a little run down on his history he gave us some of the basics when it when comes to being a songwriter in this industry. As far as his Do’s & Don’ts go: DO know your Top 40 politics. Knowing your politics is huge and bigger than the creation of music itself. DO network. It’s not the old saying “It’s who you know.” It’s all about who knows YOU! DON’T try to make everyone happy. It’s just impossible. DON’T blackball yourself! Know when to speak and when not to. Learn to bow gracefully sometimes BUT at the same token fight for your rights. In other words, pick your battles kid… No use in losing the war.

Next he taught us some of the fundamental differences between working in Nashville and working in L.A. Nashville is very much a city of artistry and craft. It’s not over poetic and it uses just the right amount of words. It’s clever but not over cerebral. They usually take weekends and holidays off. They cut maybe one song in a day and go home with a work tape. And when it comes to splits they split everything even. L.A. on the other hand doesn’t quite believe in days off and when you leave the studio your cut better sound radio ready just about. And splits are always something to be fought over in L.A.

Moving on to his direct area of expertise he began telling us what it takes to write a pop song and hopefully a hit! For one, relevancy is a big thing Pop music. Artist have to constantly turn out music; it’s almost like an assembly line at times. Pop’s fan also seem to be a part of mugging culture; the leakage of music. A lot of songs never get released because it gets stolen. Another huge part of writing for pop is the melody. Melody is KING is lyrically its ok for it to be a bit weak. Pop is definitely a singles market. Artist have to be able to turn out singles. And most of the music should be up-tempo radio music. A lot of it is just ear candy. They utilize what is called “Topline-Writers” Writers who write the melody & lyric on top of the music. Hart made a very great observation when he stated that even though pop music gets bashed a lot there is definitely a science to it. There’s a reason why some songs are hits and others aren’t. A few of his favorite songs that he feels are well-crafted are “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry, “Raise Your Glass” by Pink, & “Dominio” by Jessie. J to name a few. Lyrics in pop may not be the smartest but they do have to be clever! It can’t go over people’s head.

When prompted on his take on illegal downloading he agreed that it’s definitely taking money out of the industry’s pocket. Career speaking we as Recording Industry Student should be making it a habit to Download from iTunes and other music purchasing platforms. “One person makes the difference. It’s a perpetuating cycle. It makes a bigger statement when you purchase. It’s intellectual property.” There’s a lot of theft going on in the entertainment industry. It’s almost like a joke. It’s common place to steal from us. There’s actually a legislature coming up… The Stop Music Piracy Act. It will remove music hacking sites.

Well there’s a lot more that I could write about our fascinating night with Mr. Hart but I’ll try to wrap it up a tad by hitting some of his main points and questions.

When asked :How do you adapt to changes in Pop music trends?

Tough one. You want to be ahead as a writer but you’ll hear artist ask for what’s on the radio now. Labels don’t know what they want. Labels are scrambling for hits. Staying original, creative, and not listening to too much radio. Try to know what’s going on but not too much top 40.

How Important is joining a PRO?

Very, the manage your money, but it’s Best to wait until you have stuff in your pipeline and then you have leverage. Best to have a voice inside the company.

How did you make Songwriting Agreements?
Made a statement that I wanted to make a small deal. The bigger the deal, the bigger the commitment. They expect more of you.  Easy to work up a hole. But, I wanted to have a small deal…get out of it fast… jump into a big deal.

All in all, it was a great & informative night.

Article by Keturah Brown

YouPlaceTheOcean (Murfreesboro, TN)

http://www.facebook.com/YPTOffical

Ocean Architecture (Murfreesboro, TN

http://www.facebook.com/ocean.architecture.music

Encounters (Trenton, GA)

http://www.facebook.com/EncountersGA?sk=info

Here’s a link to the Walnut House if you need Directions

http://www.facebook.com/thewalnuthouse

Doors are at 8:00, Show starts at 9:00, $5 at the door!

Come enjoy some Middle TN and GA Metal!

Like Pro-tools forever changed the way music is recorded and iTunes forever changed the way that music is distributed,Topspin is revolutionizing the way that music and film are marketed and sold with its CEO, Ian Rogers, leading the way.

On Thursday, November 10th at 6:30 pm in LRC 221, Ian Rogers will speak to the MTSU community and general public about the new era of distribution, marketing, and sales of music and film.

There will also be a demonstration of TopSpin Media the same day at 4:00pm in the John Bragg Mass Communication Building, Room 101.

Topspin is a technology-focused direct-to-fan marketing, management and distribution platform. It helps artists manage their catalogs, connect with fans, and generate demand for their music. Topspin builds professional direct-to-fan marketing and retail software which has helped artists in the world of music and film build awareness, connect with fans, and earn more revenue than traditional channels.

Nine Inch Nails, Sundance Films, Beastie Boys, film director Kevin Smith, David Byrne / Brian Eno, Civil Wars, The Pixies, Fanfarlo, and hundreds of others use both the Topspin Platform and Marketing Services and have seen their fan bases and sales increase significantly.

Don’t miss out on an amazing chance to hear about the current industry standards by one of the men who helped to set them!

Any questions, concerns, or ambiguities can be directed to admin@omegadeltapsi.com

Funding and other services for this event were provided by MTSU’s Office of New Student and Family Programs, MTSU’s Recording Industry Department and MTSU’s Recording Industry Fraternity, Omega Delta Psi.