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International Country Music Association Newsletter
July 2003 Publisher: Colonel Bobbie Patterson ************************************************** These Radio And Magazine People Use Unsigned Artists' Music A high percentage of the people listed below will have websites. These are easily found by going to www.alltheweb.com Just enter their complete name and their nation, in the search line. Numerous other DJs can be found by going to www.radiocountry.org and clicking on Bulletin Boards. WorldSpace Satellite Radio, 2400 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 World Space Satellite Radio covers most of the world outside of North America. Their satellites beam a wide variety of music. Whatever form of music you are performing, chances are World Space Satellite Radio needs it. Most American and Canadian recording artists are not aware of this international radio broadcaster. If they play your music, you will reach a truly international audience. Helge Nielsen, Soendervangen 13, 5854 Gislev, Denmark Bob Anthony, Country Update, 11 Kalkadoon Court, Cobaki,
NSW Australia, 2486 Peter Hills, BP 13092504 RUEIL Cedex France Mia Heylen, Hoevestraat 5, B 2235 Hulshout, Belgium (Country DJ) Rene Huysmans, Molenstraat 59, Bus 1, Turnhout 2300, Belgium (Country DJ) Raymond Swennen, Postbus 42, Bree 3960, Belgium (Country DJ) Peter Briers, Van Reynegonlaan 12, B 2270 Herenthout, Belgium (Country DJ) Mary Rivers, Waatsbrugstr 100, B 9600, Belgium (Country DJ) Peter Briers, Van Reynegonlaan 12, B 2270 Herenthout, Belgium (Country DJ) Jozef Devos, Dieperstraat 13, B 2230 Herselt, Belgium (Country DJ) Rein Wortelboer, Akelei 10, 5803 CA Venray, Holland
(Country, Bluegrass, Gospel) Wally Sparrow, PO Box 45, O'Halloran Hill, SA 5158,
Australia (Country DJ) Hank Svennson, PO Box 53, S 240 30 Marieholm, Sweden
(Country DJ) Johnny Nielsen, Marievej 24, DK 5700 Svenborg, Denmark (Country DJ) ************************************************** Our Executive Director Honored By Tennessee House Of Representatives The Tennessee House Of Representatives has issued a special proclamation honoring Ambassador Charlie Ray. To see this impressive document in its entirety, go to www.radiocountry.org Just click on "See What The State Of Tennessee Said About Our Executive Director." You'll find it near the top of our homepage. We are all very proud of this official proclamation. Rein Wortelboer To Do Seminar, In Nashville Rein will conduct a seminar on European radio promotion,
during the American Karaoke Society's open microphone talent search. The
multistage event will last four days. These are the last three days of
August and Labor Day (September 1, 2003) ************************************************** Success Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity There are two kinds of people. There are those people believe their lives are ruled by something outside of themselves. We each know several of them. They are the folks who find a comfortable spot to sit and wait for fame and fortune to find them. We each know so many of them, because they are ubiquitous. If their words do not reveal them, their actions do. These are the people who refuse to take responsibility for their own lives. They appear to believe that Lady Luck, the Lord, Buddha, Allah, Fate, Santa Claus, or the Tooth Fairy will one day deliver the fame, fortune, and success they so rightly deserve. These people remind me of a story my grandfather told many times. There was once a traveling preacher. He was a good man on fire with his religion. He was very intense and ardent. As he was traveling across the Arizona desert, he saw a beautiful splash of green on the distant horizon. He knew it had to be a mirage. Nothing that green could exist, in such a barren desert. When he had traveled closer to the beautiful green spot, he saw it was a lush garden. Colorful flowers bloomed and birds sang from the limbs of trees covered with fruit. Tomatoes, green peppers, squash, and melons spread in neat bountiful rows. At the back of the garden stood a small house. Full of religious zeal, he ran up and knocked loudly on the door. It was opened by a small studious looking man with glasses perched on his nose. The preacher exclaimed loudly, "I just want to tell you what a fabulous blessing the Lord has given you! Here in this barren desert, he has created a small piece of paradise, for you." The man smiled and replied, "I understand and I agree. Without the good Lord's sunshine and the miracle of seeds none of this could be here. But, you should have seen this place when the Lord had it all to himself." Of course; the point of grandpa's story was you have to use the blessings the supreme power has given you. You have to plant the seeds, cultivate the soil, and water the tender new sprouts. You can't just find a comfortable place to sit and wait for success to find you. You have to establish goals and you have to apply intelligence and work towards reaching those goals. You have to have some way of measuring your progress. You have to know the difference between the vegetables you want to grow and the weeds you need to pull. You have to know when to apply water and fertilizer. If you do not put your blessings to work, you will not achieve success. If you do not work intelligently, you will not achieve success. If your goal is a successful career in music, there are some actions you can take to improve your chances. What I call an advisory board can be very valuable to you. An advisory board is just a group of knowledgeable people you can turn to, for advice and good ideas. Here's how my first one worked. You can make a few changes and adjust the concept to fit you and your situation. I was in high school and just starting my career as a promoter. We lived in a small Missouri town, near the Arkansas state line. I was able to put together a group of people, who proved to be of immense value. I called and invited about twenty people, to dinner, before I found five who had the time to share their knowledge with me. My first advisory board comprised a high school music teacher, a small town radio disc jockey, a weekly newspaper reporter, a high school business teacher, and the owner of a small music store. Once a month, we met in a small private room at the local restaurant. After we had ordered our hamburgers, french fries, and cokes; I would pass out a list of two or three questions about my career, as a promoter. Somebody would make a suggestion and the conversation would start. I would listen and take notes. After an hour or so, the meeting would break up. When I went home, I would spend a few hours sorting through their ideas. I'd spend the next month applying those ideas and finding more questions. Of course; there were months when one or two of my advisory board couldn't attend. Over time, one would drop out and I'd find a replacement. Many members of my first board became good friends with one another. It worked so well, I have made keeping an advisory board a lifelong habit. The number of people, their job titles, and the price of the dinners have each changed many times. My career as a promoter has taken me from one end of this great nation to the other. I've lived in large cities and small towns, in more than thirty states. Everywhere I have lived, I have had an advisory board. Several years ago, I stopped taking notes and started using a tape recorder. I just sit an omnidirectional microphone in the middle of the table, turn on the recorder, and pass out a short list of questions. A couple of hours later, I have a treasure of new ideas and insights to take back to my office. You should be careful not to confuse your advisory board with those people who are sounding boards, in your life. You need both and they serve very different functions. Sounding boards are people you can bounce ideas around with. These are close friends, relatives, and your spouse. They are already in your life and they serve a vital role. These are the people you can talk to, call, or email and say, "What do you think about this idea?" They generally serve as filters and judges of ideas you already have. Your advisory board should be outside consultants. Each person on your advisory board should have a different field of expertise. The whole purpose of an advisory board is to get ideas and suggestions from people with different knowledge and varied points of view. If you want a career as an entertainer, you should recruit people such as radio station employees, local television station employees, an editor or reporter from a local newspaper, a music store owner or the music department manager of your local Walmart store. The entertainment director of your local fraternal organization is a good person to include. Somewhere near you is an Eagles Club, Elks Club, Knights Of Columbus, American Legion or something similar. These fraternal organizations usually have an entertainment director, who books the entertainment. Don't make the mistake of thinking you have to know these people, before inviting them to sit on your advisory board. People are proud of what they do and how well they do it. Most will consider it a great commendation that you recognize their wisdom and want their advice. If you can't get the drive time DJ of the power house radio station, try the late night DJ. If none of the DJs are available, ask the radio station secretary. If you can't get a reporter from your local daily newspaper, try a reporter from a small weekly newspaper. Don't forget the teachers, at your local schools and community college. They have a wealth of knowledge and are teachers, because they like to share it. Some of your first choices will be too busy to serve as your advisors. However; very few will be rude. Would you be discourteous to someone who asked you to sit on their advisory board? Chances are, you'd think it was laudatory. Don't worry about the cost of dinner. Most towns have a buffet restaurant with a small private meeting room. A lot of fraternal organizations have low menu prices. If their entertainment director is on your advisory board, it's a good low cost place to meet. Chances are, you can get by for $10 per person. Call it $50 or $60 per meeting. If you can't afford to do it every month, do it every two or three months. It's your advisory board. You set the schedule. The value of the ideas and insights you receive will far outweigh the cost of dinner, lunch, or breakfast bar. ************************************************** The 11th. Annual King Eagle Awards Show The 11th. annual King Eagle Awards show is being planned, by "Airplay International" magazine. For details, contact Jennifer Foxx by email at: airplayint@aol.com ************************************************** Bluegrass News Submitted By Ron Malec We are pleased to announce the creation of The BluegrassZone, a new website dedicated to the support and promotion of bluegrass, roots and folk music. TBGZ will feature monthly updates on industry news, events, CD reviews & releases and happenings as well as interviews with some of the top players in bluegrass today! We are committed to help support, promote and preserve bluegrass music through the information we can provide. We ask you to visit our site regularly for updated news, information and regular features such as: Music News, from around the bluegrass community In the Zone is a monthly feature that will spotlight interviews with artists, performers, promoters, instrument builders and more. CD of the Month: Each month we'll spotlight and review a current release. Musicians' Zone will provide tips from guest artists on playing and practicing, from technique to tabs! Links to artists, record distributors, venues, instrument
dealers, associations and more will be included. Ron Malec www.thebluegrasszone.com ************************************************** Of Special Interest To Songwriters The American Karaoke Society's Talent Search will feature a special songwriters only stage. For more details, visit www.karaokesociety.com and click on the big red Talent Search banner. ************************************************** Louisiana Humor, Submitted, By C. L. Shafer This guy was on the side of a Louisiana road hitch hiking on a very dark night in the middle of a storm. The night passed slowly and no cars went by. The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him. Suddenly he saw a car slowly looming, ghostlike, out
of the gloom. It slowly crept toward him and stopped. Reflexively, the
guy got into the car and closed the door, then realized that there was
nobody behind the wheel. The Paralyzed with terror, the guy watched the hand reappear every time they reached a curve. Finally, the guy gathered his wits and leaped from the car and ran to the nearest town. Wet and in shock, he went into a bar and voice quavering, ordered two shots of tequila, and told everybody about his horrible, supernatural experience. A silence enveloped everybody when they realized the guy was apparently sane and not drunk. About half an hour later two guys walked into the same
bar. One says to the other, "Look Boudreaux, dere's dat idiot that
rode in our car when we was pushin it in the rain."
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