Belmont Songwriters Guild

Hey it's going to be here before you know it. So far about 18 folks have emailed wa@belmont.org to sign up. I know there's more of you expecting to play. But - have you signed up yet? You have to ahead of time - the Writers Night is not "open mic".

Invite your friends and family, we'll have a blast.

So this is your last chance - send an email to: wa@belmont.org with the following info:

Hooked On Life
Written by Stephanie McKenna and Debbie Ponceti

VERSE 1
Summer showers on a lazy saturday
Hopping on my bike and just peddaling away
Catching the suns last rays
Hearing a child pray

CHORUS
Oh, it's the little things, yeah
It's the little things,
That's why I'm hooked on life

VERSE 2
The smell of grandma's bacon fryin' on the stove

by karen peterson - thanks! rs

Jesus joined us last night. So much diversity of expression. It was the Songwriter’s Guild and many people shared their new songs vulnerably with the group.

There was Mary*, who tearfully told how crisis had brought her to a critical moment of faith. She trusted us with a gem from her life story. It was precious, costly, and close to her heart. Jesus came near enough to touch her. He reached in and held her heart safe, because He knew how tender it was. His eyes sparkled with delight, because her love for Him was so pure and untainted.

Belmont Songwriter Showcase - Call for Performers

This is our first call for songwriters to register for the upcoming Belmont Songwriters Showcase. I
This Showcase is open to any songwriter who has attended a Belmont Songwriter Guild meeting this year. Since we will have a limited number of slots for the Showcase, we will give preference to those who have attended BSG meetings more regularly.
With this Showcase, it is our desire to invite Belmont Church members and your friends and family to experience the wonderful and diverse musical creative expressions that are coming out of the Belmont Songwriter Guild.

Date: Thursday October 29th
Place: Belmont Church Chapel (the old church sanctuary)
Time: 7:00 pm to 9:00-9:30 pm

Here is how the Showcase evening will run:
• We will plan for 20-24 performance slots of 5-6 minutes each.

• Each performer will prepare a written statement about the origin of their song that can be presented in 60 seconds or less. You will verbally give you prepared statement to the audience when you perform your song. We want you to express your heart but not take too much time.

• You will have the remaining time to present your song.

• While we prefer to have live performances, we will consider allowing you to present a pre-recorded CD of you song.

• Your primary audio setup will include a keyboard (we will provide), guitar input or mic (you bring your instrument), vocal mic, or other input for a primary instrument if not a keyboard or guitar.

• You can invite any of the following for an accompanist.
o Up to 3 back ground vocalists
o A percussion instrument, like a djembe or conga
o A second guitarist
o A instrument with direct input (bass, electric, etc)
o A instrument to be miked (violin, flute, etc)

• We will try to plan for a pre-Showcase run thru, but we may need to call you in early on the day of the Showcase for a sound check. If we just sound check, we will likely just do a few sound checks and run the rest in real time. Please be flexible with us, we will minimize the prep time as this is all volunteer work.

How to register as a Showcase performer
Please respond to this email with the following information:
• Your name
• How many times did you attend a BSG meeting
• Title of your song
• Timing of your song in minutes
• Would you prefer to present a pre-recorded CD of your song rather than a live performance
• What instrument will you play
• Will you sing for yourself
• What accompanying instruments do you want to use besides your lead vocal and lead instrument

Our next Belmont Songwriters Guild meeting is Thursday, September 17, at Asaph's on the Belmont Church campus. We will gather at 6:00pm and fellowship for half hour or so. You are welcome to bring your dinner to eat. After that we will share songs and then discus the upcoming BSG Writer's Night (October 29!).
Bring your newest or a favorite to share.

God is the Creator. All creativity is derived from Him. Thus, our creativity contains the essence of God. So, we can find Him through sharing our creativity...if we listen.

Our next BSG meeting is Thursday,August 20th, 6:00pm at Asaph's on the Belmont Church campus. See you there!
Casey

Hey friends. Concerning registration of new site members:
Because of registration spammers I had to turn on admin approval for new members. And now I am having to spend days at a time away from a net connection. So I just need someone who wouldn't mind checking once a day for new members and approve them if legitimate.
Very light duty, guaranteed.
If you can help just put a comment on this post to let me know.
Thanks.
Joe

I thought I'd go ahead and post my recording of this song here on the website. My friend Wes helped me finish the song and did the production. He's a very talented songwriter!

Sent Together to Heal
Abbie Cox, Wes Pickering ©2009

With all authority
The captives were set free
And by your sacrifice we have been redeemed
Compassion in your hand
You healed every disease

I just had to let you to know that I started (and almost finished) a song tonight that was inspired by Mark's idea of giving a song to a carrier pigeon who flies away with it.

Rob Still said, "Julie, you should write a song about a carrier pigeon," and I replied, "No, I can't do that." The song must have overheard me and laughed at me because that VERY second, it popped into my head almost entirely and I had to write it down.

I figured out the final melody when I got home to my piano (with a little inspiration from my own Rob) and now it is 95% done!

I can't believe it. That NEVER happens to me. It must have been all that creativity oozing about the room.

I think it will be a great song for The Lovespies, and it sounds like it will have an accordion solo in it.

We'll be sure to play it for you at the next meeting, although we don't have an accordion.....

Hey Guys !

Can't wait to see you all this Thursday. Hope you are all having a great summer, and WRITING ! What a blessing that Casey and our church have a heart for us writers, to provide this kind of support for us. I know that we are all so thankful to the Lord, and to those who are bringing this encouragement to us through the Belmont Songwriters Guild. And aren't we all enjoying the awesome website, too? Thanks, Joseph !

I am pretty excited - I recently got a MySpace music page up with 3 songs posted.

http://www.myspace.com/backtobethelministries

As I have shared with you guys before, I wish that I could have figured out how to invest more time in my music, down through the years. I really tried. But sometimes, as they say, "Life comes at you fast," and it can bring us some very cold, winter winds. In these times, we have to hold on tight to the Lord to "outlast" bleak, desert seasons, as we await the unfolding of God's goodness and His promises to us. We need to remember: Winter does not last forever, and Spring will come again!