T A X I R O A D R A L L Y 2 0 1 3
S c h e d u l e o f E v e n t s
Thursday, November 7th
5:30pm – ’til close: Road Rally Registration – Hotel Lobby – next to the Grand Ballroom. You must have your photo ID to get your Road Rally badge!
6:00pm – ’til close: One-to-One Mentor Registration – Grand Ballroom Foyer – Next to the Rally Registration desk. Refer to the Mentor Bios sheet to make your selection. Members only, please. One Mentor per member. First-come, first-served basis. Must already be registered and have your Rally badge with you to sign up.
6:00pm – 8:30pm: Dinner – Eat at the hotel’s Daily Grill (the food is really good) with all the new friends you’ve made during Road Rally Registration!
8:30pm – 11:30pm: Open Mics (2) – Concourse Ballroom (2nd floor) and the Mezzanine Theater (top of escalator). Both Open Mics are on a first-come, first-served basis. Members and guests are welcome to perform at the Open Mics!
Friday, November 8th
8:00am – All Day: Registration – Continues at the Rally Registration desk near the Grand Ballroom.
9:00am – 9:05am: Opening Remarks – Grand Ballroom – Steven Memel
9:05am – 9:15am: Welcome – Grand Ballroom – TAXI Founder and CEO, Michael Laskow
Michael will draw a ticket stub (between 9:00 and 10:30) and one lucky person will win $500 cash to help pay for their Rally travel expenses. You must be in the ballroom and have your ticket stub to win!
9:15am – 10:30am: Geoff Emerick: Lifetime Achievement Award & Keynote Interview – Grand
Ballroom – Legendary Engineer/Producer Geoff Emerick was just 15 years old when he worked on the historical, first EMI recording sessions with The Beatles. Geoff later engineered the classic albums, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles (White Album), and Abbey Road. He’s also engineered three of Paul McCartney’s classic solo records and produced records for Elvis Costello, Badfinger, Art Garfunkel, America, Supertramp, Cheap Trick, and many, many more. Emerick has received four Grammy Awards, and is the co-author of the incredible book Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording The Beatles. We are thrilled to honor and interview a gentleman who played an integral part in changing musical history on a global scale – Mr. Geoff Emerick!
10:45am – 12:00pm: Why Universal Songs & Instrumentals Work So Well – Grand Ballroom – Music Supervisor John Houlihan, will play examples of songs and tracks (with video) that can be used in any number of scenes because of their “universality.” John’s wife, Julie Glaze Houlihan—who is also a Music Supervisor and Editor—will join him to demonstrate how editing a song or instrumental track can create an entirely different mood and end result.
Friday, November 8th, continued
12:45pm – 2:30pm: Mentor Lunch #1 – Concourse Ballroom (Mezzanine Level / 2nd Floor) – You must have pre-purchased your tickets to attend. Bring your ticket to the luncheon!
2:45pm – 3:45pm: Labels and Publishers A&R Panel – Listening/Q&A – Grand Ballroom – Live feedback. Music will be randomly drawn from Drop Boxes (TAXI members only). Genres: Pop, Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Country, Contemporary Christian, Urban, and Children’s music. You must be a current TAXI member to submit music for this panel. Some Q&A, too!
Michael Puryear – President, Final Four Music/New Haven Records; Christian
Chip Hardy – Past V.P. Evergreen Music Publishing, Nashville Producer; Country
Qiana Conley – Founder/CEO, Cue the Creatives; Urban
Joe Maggini – Director of Creative, Universal Music Publishing Group; Rock, Pop
Leib Ostrow – Founder/President, Music For Little People; Children’s Music
3:45pm – 4:45pm: If We Can Do This, So Can You – Grand Ballroom – If you’ve ever wondered what makes some TAXI members so successful, do not miss this extremely popular panel. Find out how these TAXI members have overcome obstacles, improved their music, and learned to successfully target their pitches. Learn how to “crack the code” at this extremely inspirational and educational panel!
TAXI Members: Pedro Costa, Helen Ksypka, Richard Dance, Stan Morris, Michelle Lockey, Kyle Kniceley, Mike Barresi, and Steve Barden
4:45pm – 5:00pm: The John Braheny Songwriting Award – Grand Ballroom – TAXI member Paul Otten will be presented with the first ever “JB” Award, named after legendary songwriting coach and advocate John Braheny. Audience members will get to hear a montage of Otten’s music, and an interview with Paul during this landmark presentation.
5:15pm – 6:30pm: Music Library Listening and Q&A Panel – Grand Ballroom – Get your best songs and instrumentals heard (drawn randomly from Drop Boxes) by experts from music licensing companies, Film/TV publishers, and music libraries. It will be mostly listening with some questions included. Only TAXI members may submit for this.
Bob Mair – Owner, Black Toast Music
Chas Ferry – Owner, HollywoodTrax Music
Garry Smith – Owner, Jamhouse Productions
David Trotter – Creative Director, Studio 51 Music
Ron Mendelsohn – CEO, Megatrax
6:30pm – 8:30pm: Dinner Break – On your own. Try the Daily Grill in the hotel. Great food!
8:30pm – 11:30pm: Open Mics (2) – Concourse Ballroom (2nd floor) and the Mezzanine Theater (top of escalator). Both Open Mics are on a first-come, first-served basis. Members and guests are welcome to perform at the Open Mics!
Saturday, November 9th
9:30am – 10:45am: Buried Treasure: Making Money From Old Recordings – Grand Ballroom – Join Record Label and Music Library Owner Jeff Freundlich and learn how you can make money with your old demos and masters from decades past. Hear examples of recordings that have made windfall retirement income for some very happy TAXI members. Learn the difference between Vintage, Retro, and Retro-Influenced songs and recordings. How much buried treasure is sitting in your attic?
11:00am – 12:00pm: Songwriting for TV Shows and Commercials – Grand Ballroom – Join Robin Frederick, author of Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV, and learn how to create songs that Television and Advertising Music Supervisors need! You’ll learn how to use “playlists” to target your pitches, and how to create music that will get you to the “top of the pile.” (See new video examples from today’s top TV shows and commercials.)
12:15pm – 2:00pm: Mentor Lunch #2 – Concourse Ballroom (Mezzanine Level / 2nd Floor) – You must have pre-purchased your tickets to attend. Bring your ticket to the luncheon!
2:15pm – 3:30pm: Music Supervisor Listening and Q&A Panel – Grand Ballroom – This is your chance to get your songs heard (drawn randomly from Drop Boxes) by a great, diversified group of Music Supervisors. Mostly listening and feedback, with pertinent questions and answers interspersed. You’re welcome to pitch both Songs and Instrumentals on this panel. Only TAXI members may submit for this.
Patrick Houlihan – Music Supervisor, Fox Music, 20th Century Fox Films
Greg Sill – Music Supervisor, Justified, Friends, Family Matters
Dondi Bastone – Music Supervisor, The Descendants, Sideways, HBO Late Night
J’ean Demery – Music Supervisor, Access Hollywood
Jonathan Klein – Music Supervisor, The League
3:45 – 5:15pm: Trailer Music: What They Need and How to Make It – Grand Ballroom – Julia Trainor, Sr. Music Supervisor on Top Hollywood Film Trailers, and successful Trailer Composer Nick Murray, will play some incredible examples of Film Trailer Music. Learn what this very specialized area of the music industry needs, and how to write and produce it!
5:30pm – 6:30pm: What Makes a Chart-Topping Song? – Grand Ballroom – Ralph Murphy is a Hit Songwriter, Producer, Publisher, ASCAP V.P. of International Membership, and one of the few people on the planet who can show you what the common traits among recent hit songs are. Don’t miss the author of Murphy’s Laws of Songwriting, and this GPS for songwriters session. If you’re in need of an “Aha!” moment, this will be it!
6:30pm – 8:30pm: Dinner – By now, you should have tons of new friends to dine with.
8:30pm – 11:30pm: Open Mics (2) – Concourse Ballroom (2nd floor) and the Mezzanine Theater (top of escalator). Both Open Mics are on a first-come, first-served basis. Members and guests are welcome to perform at the Open Mics!
Sunday, November 10th
9:00am – 10:30am: From Demo to Done! – Grand Ballroom – Learn to make your guitar/vocal or piano/vocal demos into contemporary sounding, fully arranged and produced recordings. Producer/Engineer Rob Chiarelli (75 Gold & Platinum Records) and friends will show you how, live and onstage! This is the first time we’ve ever presented Chiarelli’s incredibly popular production class on the Main Stage. Be in the ballroom at 9:00am sharp for a drawing to win a FREE Prize Bundle that includes a One-Hour consultation with Rob Chiarelli, plus a bunch of other really great stuff. Don’t be late!
10:45am – 11:45am: Updating and Upgrading Your Sound – Grand Ballroom – Need to know how to make your sample libraries and virtual instruments sound great? This panel of experts will send you home knowing what to use, and how to get the best out of it. Join Kavin Hoo, Barry French, and Jeff Steinman for this one-of-a-kind panel! Examples played!
11:45am – 12:45pm: How to Become a Hit Songwriter or Artist – Grand Ballroom – This phenomenal panel of Publishers, Artist Development experts, Hit Songwriters, and Producers will give you incredible insight into what you need to know to succeed in today’s market as a songwriter or artist. Somebody’s got to fill those slots on Billboard’s Hot 100, and these panelists are supremely well qualified to tell you what it takes and how to do it!
Judy Stakee – A-List Publisher, songwriter & artist development expert, and manager
Suzan Koc – A-List Publisher, songwriter & artist development expert
Shelly Peiken – Multi-platinum, Grammy nominated, hit songwriter
Jamie Houston – Multi-platinum, Emmy nominated, hit songwriter
12:45pm – 2:00pm: Lunch – No Mentor Lunch today. You’re on your own. Enjoy the Daily Grill.
2:15pm – 3:45pm: Scoring Dramatic and Reality TV – Grand Ballroom – Composer Jeff Cardoni will score a scene from a Dramatic TV show, followed by Composer Adam Zelkind showing how he creates instrumental cues that get used as “score” in Reality TV shows. Both composers will talk the audience through their work as they go. This is going to be awesome!
4:00pm – 5:00pm: How to Make More Money With Your Music – Grand Ballroom – If you’re not selling lots of downloads or merch at your shows, getting radio airplay, or need to build a website and a marketing plan for your music, then this panel is definitely for you!
Brian Felsen – President, CD Baby
Dave Cool – Director of Artist Relations, Bandzoogle
Debra Russell – Founder, Artist’s EDGE
Jon Flanagan – CEO, Flanagan Radio & Retail Promotion
5:15pm – 6:30pm: The Ultimate Pitch Panel – Grand Ballroom – This panel of All-Stars will listen to randomly selected songs and answer questions on this extremely popular panel.
Michael Lloyd – Legendary Mega-Hit Producer with 100+ Gold and Platinum records
Rob Chiarelli – Mega-Hit Producer/Engineer with 75+ Gold and Platinum records
Pat Weaver – Music Supervisor, Global Music Services, Discovery Communications
Ron Sobel – Co-Founder/Partner Winogradsky/Sobel, and the Win/So Music Library
Special Guest Panelist – A TAXI member will be picked at random from the audience!