Well, it’s time to get your songwriting chops lubed and prepare for the 5th Annual 6-Pack Songwriting Competition.
As I mentioned, this is the fifth year of the 6-Pack. Liz Miller won the first two and Margaret McClure won the past two. I’m sure many of the veterans will be returning as I have been receiving steady inquiries about the starting date, challenges, etc. The first four categories are the annual primer (any song you have), a love song, an instrumental and a spiritual song. The last two will be announced later and I’m sure you’re going to love them!
I can’t wait to see what the veteran 6-Packers come up with and personally invite the newcomers to bring their “A” game. There’s not a songwriting competition out their quite like the Broadjam 6-Pack and you will be stretched way beyond your current capacity.
You will see lots of new technical changes coming to the 6-Pack as well. Many of these were a result of direct feedback and we threw in a few of our own. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions regarding the 6-Pack or anything else we do for that matter. You can use this blog or send me a note directly. For some reason, I suspect you will have much to talk about.
As always, our sponsors have provided the contest with great prizes – take a look. They Include Sony, IK Multimedia, Line 6, Casio, Yamaha, ASCAP, and more!
So Get Lubed (Anything), Brew Some Luv (Love Songs), Shut Yer Yap (Instrumental) and get on that Rarified High (Spiritual) as we’re getting started.
The 2009 6-Pack is rockin’ and we’re off and running. Best of luck to everyone.
Sincerely,
Roy Elkins, Broadjam Founder and CEO
Posted by Broadjam on Jun 1, 2009 in The 7th Can
Folks. . . I know you’ve heard ‘sunshine’ more times than any human being should ever be asked to bare.
And, you may already be done with Can 5. But, I promise, if nothing else, you will get a real chuckle out of this.
What started out as an experiment became another collaboration and eventually a final submission. Nils Rurack, thank you for trusting me, especially since I am old enough to be your dad.
Nathaniel, thank you for opening my eyes to the unlimited frontier that exists in the digital world.
Good Mayor Roy, thank you for the venue and all her events.
NOW< CRANK IT UP!!!!!
cuz this one was meant to hurt.
http://www.broadjam.com/artists/songs.php?artistID=67444&mediaID=462384
Nov 22, 2009/7:02 pmPeter: good points.
Marg: FUN!!!! So much fun!
Happy thanksgiving to u too!!!
Tech: Karaoke… Wasnt as much of that as mentioned by some sources. A few, yes… but not too much.
Besides… The most ripped cover here has to be my version of Georgia, and thats at 60th place. Sounds great… just not as Karaoke acceptable as a few of these “more” polished versions are
maybe. haha…
No… The right people will end up where they belong by contests end. Hopefully. lol
Just keep voting.
Nov 22, 2009/5:01 pmMags: You’re a most excellent mom. Every day, if you can look around you and find gratitude in who you are, who is in your life, what you have accomplished and what lays ahead, it’s officially Thanksgiving Day.
This will be my first Thanksgiving alone, ever. So, if you find yourself missing the girls this coming Thursday, feel free to blog, call or chat and I will keep you company.
Pro: I was thinkng about your question of surprises from this event and I have to admit to some important changes for me.
One – Instrumentals: I had become somewhat rigid in my thinking. Why would somebody enter an instrumental into the luv can or rareified? But, then I thought about when I write an instrumental, I most oftern have a theme in mind and want to evoke some kind of emotion or reaction. Sometimes a story is best told without words.
Two – Collaboration: I’ve hired and had the privilege to work with some incredible musicians over the past 30 years. But, this is the first time I have been invited to share in the chores of crafting lyric or melody and I am addicted. Thank you God for the digital domain, WAV and MP3. I invite new opportunities to share the creative process.
Three – Loops: Thanks to the occassional tiff between Pro and J’UK, I took the time to learn Garage Band and the universe of loops. Ain’t gonna make it a major habit, but I respect how some have truly made an art out of mixing loops to create music. It’s actually fun.
Four – Freindship: The biggest and most rewarding surprise of all. I started this Six Pack journey wanting to win. I still do but won’t mind, if at the end of the day, I find myself somewhere in the company of the top 20.
What an acheivement for an old folk dog who walked away from the music for the previous five years and found out there were still some people waiting for PGO to come back.
I’m finally home again and eternally grateful that you left the light on so I could find my way. GOD BLESS!
Nov 22, 2009/3:45 pmHappy Thanksgiving, everyone.
I follow the kind words of all my friends here. You are a crazy bunch! That’s a compliment.
Troy, I agree with Penny, there are no rules in regards to lyrics for can 6. Just don’t forget that in certain musical genres (classic, jazz, fusion etc) about 90% of the music is instrumental. Even in rock there are some great players that put out mainly instrumental work (think Vai, Satriani). Instrumentals might not be as commercially successful as vocal music but there is a huge amount of it. With all these different 90000 artists on bjam in all kinds of styles chances are the instrumentalists use this opportunity to gain additional exposure. Collaborations take time AND you need to find the right singer first. Luckily I found a few…
I hope you’ll hear some less boring stuff soon.
Nils
Nov 22, 2009/3:35 pmIt’s a challenging can for sure Troy.Guess that’s why it’s the last one. We had a bilingual can last year also very tricky. I only entered one song in that one and it was tough!Only entered one in this years last can too.
Nov 22, 2009/3:34 pmHi Penny, yeah I know. But they still get pretty boring to me after awhile. There is some good music in there but I tend to enjoy songs with lyrics more. Mags and Andy have a few nice ones in there. Many of the submissions sound like simple attempts at time changes, nothing really thought out and moving. Those ones get the low score from me.
Nov 22, 2009/3:26 pmMags have a great day with your girls! They are thankful I’m sure for the wonderful unique mother they are so lucky to have, xox
Nov 22, 2009/3:19 pmTroy, can 6 is open to instrumentals just as much as songs with vocals in my view. Some really amazing instrumental ones in there lately too.
Nov 22, 2009/3:03 pmMan, am I getting bored with all the instrumentals in can 6! It’s like we have 2 instrumental cans in this contest!
Nov 22, 2009/2:16 pmTech Trash,
I personally have thoroughly enjoyed listening to your “Trash” lol.. No worries about the “Karaoke” people..those of us who recognize a Karaoke track when we hear it (via karoke downloads.com or iTunes) promptly mark them as “inappropriate”.
Can’t wait to see who the winners are!
Nov 22, 2009/1:25 pmHappy Turkey Day folks!
Mags, keep a leg for me, I’ll be at your virtual table as soon as I can get a virtual trans-Atlantic flight. I like lots of gravy too!
Did you know….. the Portuguese word for a Turkey is ‘Peru’? Strange but true.
Nov 22, 2009/1:14 pmHappy Turkey Day Mags, you’re dinner will be as wonderful as your music. I am sure just like you improvise a great riff your “fake” Thanksgiving will feel like the real thing. And to all the friendships I have made through this year”s Six Pack I hope your Thanksgiving Day is filled with lots of good food and happiness. For now it seems I have finished all the Can reviews because nothing is coming up. Perhaps the Roy and Co. are revamping for next week and more songs will come in. If not I have heard some really terrific music by my fellow artists and enjoyed the ride along with you all. Getting to know alot of you through this contest was well worth the price of admission. I am sure we will all meet again. xoxo, Felice
Nov 22, 2009/12:23 pmhello everyone… today is fake thanksgiving for me and my girls.. because they are going to new york with their dad tomorrow for a week to see their ailing grandmother …ive never been apart from them on a holiday .ever.. so to keep my sanity and theirs i created “fake thanksgiving” my whole family is coming over and im making a big turkey dinner.(too bad i cant cook) …everyone will act like it is really real .. and well …i will go into deep denial ..and everyones happy.. right? see how smart i think i am??
so happy thanksgiving everyone !!… we musicians have much to be thankful for !!! im thankful for all of you and thankful for your music and the music we will all create in the future…
i have only finished reviewing in can 5 cause it was short and sweet.. but have hardly even started the other cans.. i will wait till next week and then start ..i will try to get through everything…i did last year ..it felt like a huge accomplishment .. and was even a little sad to be finished.. their is a whole universe entered in this contest i cant wait to fly around in it ..
xo,
Nov 22, 2009/12:06 pmmags
That was a great contest. I submitted to Shut Yer Yap can, with a 3 classical pieces and never imagined I would get anywhere near the top 20. Surprisingly, one of the songs got me 4th place, and as aresult ended with 21th place overall!! Now that was too close!!! I wish I had submitted to the other cans as well!!
But this really shows the high caliber musicians here at Broadjam, that classical music is very much appreciated. Good luck to all!
Nov 22, 2009/11:33 amJean Paul
Happy Turkey Day to you Tech and Ditto on meeting you thru the 7th Can. Glad you had the time to participate but I hope business picks up for you.
Hey, Pro. I think I’ve worn out the reviews as nothing comes up for any of the cans. Wow, what a motherload of music everyone has put out over the past 6 months.
I lost track of the favorites. Will have to go back over the artist list and visit their pages. Nils cut some interesting guitar for SPF50 that I will put in the mix the reload that track.
Sure had a lot of fun with all six cans.
Nov 22, 2009/10:50 am