Congrats to two-time champion Liz Miller. Bobby Caputo gave her a run for the money and finished second. Toby Tune in third…..Lots of talent this year. It was very enjoyable.

Thanks to all of the sponsors who make this challenge so rewarding. Some of the prizes are awesome. Every NAMM show I sit down and listen to the Genelec monitors and wish I had a pair in my studio. They are amazing…..I was recently in a jam session at the ELabs Studio. The studio is relaxing, sounds great,has a Pro Tools rig and a Steinway. Congrats to Liz. She will really enjoy recording here…..Thanks to all of our generous sponsors for their support of this challenge.

And most of all, we greatly appreciate the songwriting talent on Broadjam. If you get a chance, listen to one song from every one of the artist in the Top 20. We are convinced you will here the best independent songwriters in the world.

Roy

Richard Zeier jumped into contention today in a big way. He is now leading with Bobby in second and Liz in third. His music is well written with tasteful orchestration. He is a strong composer with productions that are diverse and engaging. If I was a director looking for someone to score my next film, he would definitely get a call. Great stuff.

There’s not too much time left to enter the first contest. Currently, we have 6 different writers leading the the individual contests.
Liz Miller - Spill Your Guts
Richard Zeier - Put Your Music Where Your Mouth Is
Vincent Bernay - Acoustic Slide
Steve Dafoe - Birthday Bash
Bobby Caputo - Jingles All The Way
Andy James Court - Lights, Camera, Music

Australia, Canada, France and the United States are represented by our leaders.

At the moment, Bobby Caputo is the only writer to place in the Top 20 in all 6 categories.

Don’t forget to review this week. Your input picks the winner. Thanks for your music.

Roy

We’re getting down to the wire! Remember, Monday, October 16th is the last day to enter “Spill Your Guts.” The next contest closes on Tuesday the 17th and so on. There will be one week of reviewing and then the winners will be announced.

There have been many lead changes in the past week. Toby Tune jumped into the lead briefly over the weekend and now Bobby Caputo has made his move. It will be interesting to watch over the next few days as we wind down.

One contest that has surprised me is the video contest. I wasn’t expecting the quality that we received. Not because of the lack of creativity or talent, I just thought that they are a little more difficult to make. Note: We have decided to create a Broadjam TV channel for the winners of the “Lights, Camera, Music” contest. More to come later.

Well, I wrote this last night and before I posted it, Liz jumped back in the lead. My guess is that we will see a response from some of the other players. It will have my attention this weekend. Best of luck to all.

Roy

I logged on last night to check out the leaderboard and saw that Steve DaFoe had taken the lead. For the past week, Liz Miller has been dominating. I checked again this morning the board had changed again. Liz is back on top. I’m glad to see Steve in the 6 Pack. He is a strong lyricist with good hooks. One of the songs he writes about war has a line in it “connected by love, but apart because of hate.” His lyrics are simple, but strong.

Another entry in to the Top 5 overall is Redeye. He is originally from Trinidad and Tobago but now resides in Maplewood, NJ. He is currently the only rapper in the Top 20. Clearly this demonstrates his knowledge of the genre. His stuff is edgy, intense and real. I’m glad he’s here as well.

The Top 20 consists of writers from 4 Continents, 7 Countries and 13 US States. They list their primary genres as Unique (5), Pop (4), Folk (3), Rock (2), Country (2), Rap and World. 2 artists have not chosen a genre. In addition, 2 are Soundtrack writers, 1 writes Celtic music and 1 is a Gospel artist. We are very proud of the diversity that the 6 Pack has attracted this year.

Thanks for your music.

Roy

Jim,
Thanks for your thoughts and making me laugh this morning. My mother and her home cooking just left after a two-week visit and I too am wondering how to cut weight. If you figure that out through video, let me know.

Liz,
Maybe you could lend the Scotsman some of that fingernail polish to help him through his video production. Jim, if you do put fingernail polish on, please email a photo.

As everyone is gearing up for the final stretch, the leaderboard has had some major shifts in the past week. But this morning, Liz has taken a commanding lead. As I have said so many times, Liz Miller is one of the strongest writers on Broadjam. There are reasons she won last year and is leading this year. She is good. She is humble. She believes that the next song she writes will be better than the last one. She is never satisfied. She takes constructive feedback and applies it immediately.

I don’t know if we’ve ever had anyone in the Top 20 in 5 categories. As of this morning, Mario Massi is 5 for 5 and #9 overall. As the charts show, he is extremely versatile. Congrats, Mario.

Four others are in the Top 20 in 3 Categories: Liz Miller (#1 overall), Vincent Bernay (#2), Bobby Caputo (#8) and Regine (#10).

Until this morning I wasn’t familiar with Vincent Bernay’s or Regine’s music. If he isn’t already, Vincent should be writing film scores. His music is thick, energetic and mysterious. Click the “play all” button and listen to his playlist. Every song is a surprise. I really enjoyed listening to his music this morning.

Regine, from Scotland, has very strong vocal and songwriting skills. One of her fans writes, “This girl is awesomely talented. She writes beautiful songs and then goes and sings them wonderfully!!” I agree. A cross between Enya and Norah Jones, her voice is better than either of them and her songwriting is just as strong.

Thanks again for your feedback and participation. Like many of you, I check the leaderboard several times a day. At this point in the competition it becomes addictive!

Roy

Hey Roy and everybody at Broadjam,

My nerves are so bad that I’m keeping TUMS in business. I put on some obnoxious colored nail polish in an attempt to stop biting my nails, but it didn’t work. Now I have chewed away the ends of my fingers like a psycho stress bag.

I have been listening to a lot of the artists on the leaderboard. Some are old acquaintances, like awesome blues wonder Mario Massi who invited me awhile back to jam with him if I ever get around to Chicago.(it’s a dream I have one day to actually do it)
I discovered Freddy at the onset and think he is a wonderful, talented artist, and I don’t use that word lightly.
Jim Ferrie is also an amazing gifted musician and Bobby Caputo and I are working on a country tune.

I found so many cool people on this site.

I have to say I’m with Jim when it comes to the video thang. It scares me something bad. It reminds me how much the world is changing. Music has become visual, like it or not, and this audio girl is nervous. The videos I have seen are soooooo professional.

I would also like to say that achieving is a lot easier than maintaining. When the bar is set, you have to work your butt off to reach it,even on the worst of days.

I am once again addicted to the leaderboard and my own adrenaline.

Shaky Liz Miller

I agree Roy. No surprise Mario was in 4 category top 20’s. I’ve listened to Mario Massi’s material. He’s one heck of a singer, always has tight arrangements and a clean sound. Liz Miller’s jingle is brilliant and radio-ready (I’ve checked her page out).

Ah, but the time approacheth for me, the great visual Luddite, to submit to the last challenge, yea verily. I’ve already seen some awsome music videos with great music and visual interpretation and fear has set in as I begin to plummet down the leaderboard, like an de-winged, overweight Icarus with a tombstone tied to my feet. Some of these productions look like they’ve come straight off CMT, MTV or Top of the Pops (that is, I think! - then again, how would I know?, I hardly remember where the on-button for my TV is).

Undettered though, I’m up for the challenge, grasping for that parachute. So, tomorrow I shall try to find an audio-visual wizard and a theme. My first three questions are most likely to be

Some excitement near the top in the past couple of days. Victor Sabattini decided to get into the competition. He briefly took the lead from Liz but has now fallen to 3rd behind Liz and Mario. I spent some time this morning listening to Victor’s music. His compositions are thick and rich and it’s clear he knows how to use a synth to get the most out of his songs. It’s nice stuff to listen to. Very good arranger as well…..Mario Massi is the only writer in the the Top 20 in 4 categories while Liz Miller, Jim Ferrie and Bobby Caputo are in 3. Including the above there are only 15 writers on the leaderboard in more than one contest. The 6 pack is very competitive this year. The leaders have earned their spots.

Roy

Liz still holds a commanding lead and it doesn’t look like she’s ready to hand over the title. Mario is back in second and John Thomas Oaks has jumped into 3rd. You’ll laugh when you read the description of Johns music in his bio. I’ve listened to alot of his music over the years. This guy can write and play with the best of them……Acoustic Slide and Birthday Bash leaderboards are incredibly close. 20 points separate the Top 5 in the acoustic competition. 21 points separate the Top 5 in the Birthday Bash. This is the closest I’ve seen it in a while…..We’ve had more entries in the video contest than we’ve had in jingles. Get your songs in for the fifth leg of the 6 Pack. (Hint: Not nearly as many entries as we had last year. I think we may have a few sandbaggers out there.) It’s a good time to move up the leaderboard. Keep writing.

Roy

I am spending some time off in the U.P. of Michigan and just drove into the Big Boy to get internet access. Yeah, you heard it right. I drove 15 miles to get internet access and the Big Boy is the only place in town that provides it. (For our international members: The Big Boy is a restaurant chain in America known for its giant childlike statue standing in front of the diner in a red and white checkered outfit holding up a hamburger.)

The leaderboard has certainly changed. I see that our defending champ is back on top. Freddy was leading for a while last week and is now sitting right behind Mario Massi who is in second. With all of the great artists on our leaderboard, it’s nice to see these 3 at the top. The top 5, including Lair Gantt and Pecana Artists, are all unique in their own way. If you get a second, listen to a song from each of the Top 5. It’s a diverse and talented group of writers.

BTW: This particular Big Boy has killer french fries and a friendly staff that keep filling up my pop glass while I take space at their counter.

Roy

Lair,

Thanks for the note and the kind words. We are proud of the 6 Pack Challenge and only regret we (employees) can’t enter. From our perspective, it’s a lot of fun to watch. I can only imagine what it must be like to see your name bouncing up and down the leaderboard.

We have talked about opening a leaderboard for some of the other events, but haven’t decided one way or another at this point.

Earlier this year we decided that peer review was the way to go with this challenge. At this point, it seems to be the fair way to handle it. Broadjam does not dictate or control the outcome of our challenges. We believe our members should make the call. In some contests, we do have outside judges, but for the most part, it’s peer review.

Broadjam has approximately 60,000 members in our database. I’m not sure exactly how many entries we’ll get to the 6 Pack, but it will be in the thousands. So being on top of a peer review leaderboard like this is not an insignificant feat. A song is uploaded to us every 3-4 minutes and some of those are written specifically for this challenge.

I appreciate your feedback and would love to hear from others as well.

Roy

BTW: There is nothing like good “competition” and a “fat carrot” to give one a good “swift kick.”

Mr. Roy Elkins,

I finally discovered the Broadjam Founder’s Blog page the other day. It really adds a nice personal touch to an already superior website.

I was tickled to find that you had listened to my stuff and dug it. Thanks. I’m even more blown away by the fact that I’m even ON the 6-Pack Contest Leaderboard, by peer review nonetheless. I know there are over two months to go yet in the contest and “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” but it’s still very heady for Johnny-come-lately (me) to be on the chart, considering the many obviously talented songwriters participating from around the world. I’m curious, how many participants do you anticipate this year, and what is Broadjam’s current total membership?

By the way, the ideas of a leader board, updated in near real time, and scores based on review averages… both brilliant. I’m addicted! I visit the Broadjam site WAY more than I would admit because of this function. Have you considered having a leader board for EACH of Broadjam’s contests?

Closing thoughts: Of the three things that are the best motivators for me, 1) a swift kick in the pants, 2) competition, and 3) a fat carrot hanging from a stick, Broadjam’s 6-Pack Contest effectively delivers the later two in spades. I don’t think I’ve ever been more motivated to take my otherwise meandering musical endeavors to “the next level.” Even after working a 12-hr shift and spending time with my family, I’m finding myself staying up late, behind the keyboard zeroing in a new groove or melody line. Caffeine is my friend now. I’m also a new TAXI.com member and am trying to make the most of my membership there, but that gratification is admittedly delayed. This 6-Pack Contest provides both delayed AND immediate gratification in the forms of prizes promised to the winners, and Leaderboard feedback. Thusly motivated, I will have had my most musically productive year ever.

Keep up the great work,

Lair Gantt

Freddy is on top again this morning. He’s a strong writer/performer and has been near the top since the beginning. Second place is Joe Hutchinson. His music is very bluesy. I heard his entire song list this morning. Sounds a little like Tom Waits and someone else that I can place at the moment. Lots of passion in his music.

John Curry is back up on top this morning and Freddy is in second. Instrumentalist Lair Gantt is in 3rd. I checked out Lair’s stuff this morning and understand why he is dominating the instrumental challenge at the moment. He had four songs for sale on his song page and I bought all of them. He is versatile and clearly has a “groove” that connected with me.

The board has changed a couple of times in the past 24 hours with Jennifer Cutting on top yesterday, and this morning Freddy has regained the lead. Jennifer’s music is very well arranged and produced. A folk like vocal tops it off and creates a real new age vibe…..If you listen to the Top 5 or 6 artists, you will hear a talented and diverse group of musicians. This is what I love about the web, you would never find this mixture of skill anywhere else in the music world…..Hint: As the challenges get tougher, the opportunities get greater. If you’ve been thinking about writing a birthday song or a jingle, now would be a good time to do so.