Blues, Broadjam, Community, Country, Great People, Great Songwriters, Music, Roy Elkins

Nashville Joe

November 17, 2015 royelkinsorg@broadjam.com Leave a comment

A little over a year ago, I wrote a blog about one of the most popular members of Broadjam.com, Nashville Joe. A few weeks back, I met him in person for the first time. He was in a hospital bed in Port Charlotte, Florida fighting a cancer battle, one surgery after another.

Early in September, a couple of Broadjam members contacted me and asked if we could do something special for Nashville Joe . So a bunch a folks got together and bought his downloads on the Broadjam site. We sent him a check in September and his spirit was lifted, but his battle with cancer continues on.

I was traveling to see my mother, who lives a couple of hours from Joe and took a day to drive to Port Charlotte, Florida to see him. I had called, texted and emailed, but didn’t receive a response in the few days prior, it was unlike him. So I reached out to a few of ourmutual friends on Broadjam. Susan Witzel had contacted his sister through Facebook and she forwarded the number of Joe’s friend Peter.

Peter has been helping Joe cope on a daily basis and is assisting with the insurances, paperwork and all of the other “life” things that have to be dealt with during times like this. He met Joe a few months back and immediately warmed up to him as well. Peter was thankful that I was coming to see Joe, but after being there, I am so thankful for him. It’s people like him that make humanity great. He doesn’t have to do this. But he does.

Joe certainly looked like he’d been through the ringer and maybe at times, his mind wanted to throw the towel in. But deep inside, one could still see his heart and soul still fighting the battle. His personality continues to shine and his spirit is as strong as ever. He loves talking about songwriters and the friends he has met along the way. On occasion, I have the opportunity to meet a member who has been on the site for years and sometimes they are a little different than I expected. With Joe, it was exactly as I knew him to be online. There are no pretentions, he is who he is, all the time.

Again, here is the story I wrote about a year ago.

Just as I was sitting down to write this, Joe called. So I have modified the previous paragraphs slightly and now adding a couple of more.

He said, “Ya know what I love about Broadjam?”, I replied, “What’s that Joe?”, “Ya got all this crap going on in the world and Broadjam just flows like a river. People from all these countries all flowing and working together. That’s what I love about it.” Joe told the story of when Bob Dylan went to visit Woodie Guthrie near the end of his life. He said, “that’s what our visit reminded him of.” I had never heard that story, but it just goes to show how much all songwriters care for one another.

As I was leaving, Joe said, “I want you to have that guitar.” There was a guitar case laying next to his bed. I was a little surprised and said, “I can’t take your guitar.” He said, “I want you to have it.” Needless to say I was a little shocked. He added, “I am too weak to play it.” After we discussed (slightly argued) this for about a minute. I offered, “I will take this on one condition. I am just going to hold it and when you beat this, you get it back.” We agreed. All the way home, I had a tear in my eye thinking about Joe and the unfairness of it all. In my head, I kept thinking about him, the guitar, his battle, his friends on Broadjam, the generosity of his friend Peter and his overall spirit. He has touched so many lives as he continues to provide positive feedback to so many musicians around the world. He touched another one that day and I will never forget this two hours of our lives.

Compiled by Roy Elkins

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Blues, Community, Great People, Great Songwriters, Madison, Music

Chris Aaron

October 24, 2014 royelkinsorg@broadjam.com Leave a comment

As soon as you meet Chris Aaron, you realize you have a new friend and feel like you have known him your whole life. And I believe he felt the same way about everyone he met. He was that type of guy. If you have ever met him, you have never forgotten it.

The first time we connected was in our office at Broadjam. He and his wife, Lisa Bethke, had come in from Colorado and were promoting one of their projects, The Bandallamas. This was an all-star band of local and national musicians including Victor DeLorenzo, Richard Davis, Bobby Bryan, Wally Ingram, Pauli Ryan and Rob Wasserman. Both Chris and Lisa were extremely passionate about this project. But more importantly, they couldn’t stop talking about all the musicians in the band. It was clear that they are not only musicians, they are truly fans of music and especially those they gigged with.

Chris died last week at age 44. Although I didn’t know Chris that well, I had a tear in my eye. I will never understand why good people go so early, especially when they are giving so much art, peace and happiness to the world. I’m sure his closest friends would agree that a good soul has been taken way too early.

As a musician, Chris was an awesome & tasteful blues player. When looking at his Facebook page, his photos include a Who’s Who of the Wisconsin music scene. Jim Schwall, Pauli Ryan, Clyde Stubblefield, Duke, Westside Andy, Darren Sterrud, Tony Menzer, Perry Weber, Jim Voegeli, Pat MacDonald and many others. Every photo shows Chris smiling, gigging or both.

As we get older, our friends and family seem to pass on a more frequent basis. I guess this is just a part of life. When a special person like Chris leaves us at such a young age, we step back and think about what is really important.

I am sad that he has moved on and will remember his spirit and gift. He was a great person, who had extreme depth and personality. My sincere condolences to Lisa and all of her family and friends. Rest In Peace Chris.

There is a fund set up to help his kids with college tuition. You can find the link here on his website.

Roy Elkins

Founder, Broadjam, Google+, Onliner Notes, MySpace, Music Industry Views, News & Reviews

Additional links & good organizations – Madison Area Music Association, Willywash, Dallas Songwriters Association – one of the best in the business, Les Paul Foundation

Press & educational links – Moving To Nashville Some Of The Best, More Of The Best, Hangout June 6, 2014, “Blanket” Music Licensing, Examiner, Isthmus Rock The Vote, Broadjam 6-Pack, Celebrating Sonic Foundry, Getting Your Music Into Film, Project Famous – Great Photographer, Models of Opportunity: How Entrepreneurs Design Firms

Great Organizations, Great People, Music, Music Business, Music Education, Roy Elkins, Uncategorized

Ben Hans – Instructor – MATC Music Program

October 1, 2014 royelkinsorg@broadjam.com 17 Comments

Milwaukee Area Technical College – Instructor Ben Hans

Ben Hans is an instructor at the Milwaukee Area Technical College Music program. The curriculum focuses on the business of the music industry. Along with the business, recording and technology classes are taught as well. It is an excellent program.

Several times a year I have the privilege of speaking to students at various universities and colleges in Wisconsin. Topics may include entrepreneurialism, pitching your music or the general music industry. One of those classes that I speak with on a regular basis is the aforementioned music program at MATC Milwaukee where Ben is the instructor. He is a passionate educator with a deep concern about the well-being of his students. Ben is an accomplished musician himself and has been involved in many recording projects including his own releases. But more importantly, he is a great teacher and it is obvious that his students admire and respect him.

This past session, I spoke to several classes about many music industry topics. These classes always have engaged students with interesting questions and perspectives. Part of their educational process is to write a review of my presentation as required by their instructor. Below is their review of the class.

Roy Elkins

Founder, Broadjam, Google+, Onliner Notes, MySpace, Music Industry Views, News & Reviews

Additional links & good organizations – Madison Area Music Association, Willywash, Dallas Songwriters Association – one of the best in the business, Les Paul Foundation

Great People, Great Songwriters, Music, Pop, Rock

Margaret McClure – Oncology Parking Part 2

August 28, 2014 royelkinsorg@broadjam.com Leave a comment

Margaret McClure is a gifted songwriter who can write in multiple genres. I have always been a fan and recently heard of her battle with cancer. Below is part 2 of the story. Here is part 1.

So for the next eight weeks, five days a week, I would come in to that place I loathed and at 10:15 am, I would lay on a narrow hospital bed right under this massive metal monstrosity that was straight out an alien movie. Small, thick, square glass windows would open with a screech and invisible radiation beams would penetrate my flesh. I have always had claustrophobia and this was a five day a week claustrophobic nightmare. Being unable to handle the reality of it all, I pretended that I was going to the spa instead of thinking about how this machine could easily crush me. When the creepy little windows opened to emit the radiation. I would close my eyes and pretended to be holding my two daughters hands or surfing perfect crystal blue waves.

Every day I got a little bit weaker and everyday my skin got a little bit more burned until I could practically see the heat waves rising from my chest. It felt like I weighed 300 pounds and I was walking on Jupiter. This was the kind of tired that doesn’t go away with a nap. Half the time I couldn’t even remember where I parked. Those oncology parking spaces started looking really tempting. I had to walk by them twice a day and I watched other patients park in them. One day I kind of lost it and I spit on one of those spots. But not once in those eight weeks did I ever park in one.

Sometimes I would be a few minutes late and Debbie would give me a huge lecture. “It really messes us up when your late” she would snap out. Since when do people expect a mother of two young children whose being treated for cancer to be on time every day for 8 weeks? I would think to myself. I wondered what she would say if I told her I was late because I couldn’t find a parking spot. Some days I would sit in the freezing lobby half naked, wearing my lovely gown, waiting for 45 minutes, doing jigsaw puzzles with the old folks because they were running behind. I started to get to know the other patients. Lucy had the 10:00 slot and Shelly the10:30 slot. Sometimes I would bring my seven year old daughter and Lucy would watch her while I got my radiation. Shelly was having esophageal radiation and couldn’t talk much but she talked with her eyes and she was really nice.I really liked Lucy. She was 70 years old, about one hundred pounds over weight, diabetic and was on her third bout with breast cancer. She was a brave lady and funny too. We would high five each other to celebrate the fact that we were able to fit a piece or two into the jigsaw puzzle once in a while. She was better at it than I was. She had had more practice. I don’t know if we ever finished one while I was there. I guess it didn’t matter, It was just an easy way for tired patients to pass the time when they had to wait. And we had to wait a lot. Not once did Debbie or anyone else ever apologize when they were running late. One day I called her on it and said “Hey, when I’m two minutes late ya’ll freak out, but we’ve been sitting here today for 45 minutes waiting. I think you owe us a pass next time one of us is late”. She actually agreed and never mentioned lateness again. I’m sure she had personal issues going on that I had no idea about and I sort of felt bad for her that day.

I’ll never forget the last day. My hair had started to grow back, it was at least an eighth of an inch of fuzz. I was very excited about that little sign of life returning. So I came in a little early without my usual beanie. I couldn’t wait to show Lucy. But for the first time that day she was not there.I asked about her and they said she had changed her appointment time. I thought maybe she didn’t want to say good bye and I respected that. But I was sad when I went back to get my robe. To make matters worse Debbie looked at my head and said “OMG! Your hair” I said “yeah It’s coming back!”. Then she said “Its orange!”. I was to tired and upset to respond. Plus I was struggling to untie the secret knot I had tied the day before in my gown. She yelled to the other nurse “Look at Margaret’s hair, Can you believe she is dying it already?”. I told them that that I did not dye it. She said that everyones hair always grows back grey. “Debbie! If I had enough energy to dye my hair it wouldn’t be this weird orange color” I said. She just laughed at me and rolled her eyes. “Wow…I’m so glad I never have to come back in here again” I said out loud for everyone to hear.

When I was done being cooked for the last time they all lined up in the hall and gave me a half hearted little graduation ceremony complete with a diploma. It was kind of nice but I was much more excited about finally being able to toss my gown in the laundry bin. I did not like the staff much, but I sincerely thanked them all because they had helped to save my life, just like I had done to every nurse, surgeon, doctor and technician who had helped before them. Without them I knew I would have been six feet under and I was thankful. With the hideous months of cancer treatment officially completed and without looking back, I walked straight out the VIP exit and felt the sunlight shining down on my orange fuzzy hair.

The last time I saw those Oncology Parking spots I had tears in my eyes. But not for the reason that you would think. These tears were happy tears. I was free and I was done with this horrible chapter of my life. I had defied the oncology parking spots and suffered because of it. But I was proud of my minor accomplishment. Although I could barely make it back to my car on the other side of that crowded parking lot that day ….I remember thinking about how I would be back surfing and singing soon, maybe taking my girls on a trip, and how I would find a place to get those ugly black tattoos removed. ….I decided this would be a good time to smile.

written by Margaret McClure

We all have tough times and face difficult challenges. Reading Margaret’s story brings life into perspective. So often, we worry about trivial things that are really meaningless in the bigger picture. Thanks to Mags for sharing this.

Roy Elkins

Founder, Broadjam, Google+, Music Industry Views, News & Reviews, Onliner Notes, MySpace

Additional links & good organizations – Madison Area Music Association, Willywash, Dallas Songwriters Association – one of the best in the business, Les Paul Foundation

Press & educational links – Hangout June 6, 2014, “Blanket” Music Licensing, Examiner, Isthmus Rock The Vote, Broadjam 6-Pack, Celebrating Sonic Foundry, Some Of The Best, Getting Your Music Into Film, Project Famous – Great Photographer, Models of Opportunity: How Entrepreneurs Design Firms

Community, Great People, Great Songwriters, Music, Roy Elkins

Margaret McClure – Oncology Parking Part 1

August 22, 2014 royelkinsorg@broadjam.com 3 Comments

Margaret McClure – Songwriter and Survivor

Margaret McClure is one of the most respected songwriters on Broadjam.com. She is a gifted, creative and unique writer. An expert at writing current Pop-Rock songs, but can stretch into other genres as well. Her most recent collaboration, The Unconditionals, with Liz Miller is one of the best I have ever heard from a Broadjam member.

A few years after meeting her, I learned of her successful battle with breast cancer. I say that lightly as I am sure that success can only be defined by the patient. What I mean to say is that she lived to tell her story and does so below.

Roy Elkins

Oncology Parking by Margaret McClure

The first time I saw those three Oncology Parking spots I had tears in my eyes, but not for the reason you would think. I was rushing my youngest daughter, who was eight months old, to the pediatrician because she had a high fever. I also had my two year old along for the ride. I had asked my ‘now’ ex-husband, if he could watch the older one. But he had a meeting to attend. On the way the pediatricians office I was driving as fast as I could because my baby seemed to be getting sicker by the minute. There is nothing worse than that helpless feeling you get when you cant comfort your crying child. Unfortunately I was pulled over in one of those group pull overs with four other cars at the same time for speeding. When the officer came up to my window I begged him to let me go. It was obvious that my baby was very sick and I was driving her to the doctor. Just then she projectile vomited in the back seat and my two year old began to scream. So the officer said “Ok I’ll write your ticket first”. Seriously?

By the time I made it to the parking lot with my sick baby and barf all over the back seat all three of us were crying. The large parking lot was full. It always was. Like usual I knew it was gonna take forever to find a spot but as I drove behind one of the buildings I saw some open spots very close to the entrance. I couldn’t believe my luck and I started to pull in. But then I saw the signs…. Oncology Parking Only. I remember clearly the sound of the screaming babies, the smell of vomit, the sight of the speeding ticket on the dash board and my sudden realization that “it could be worse”. And I said out loud to myself “Well, at least I’m never gonna have to park in one of those spots”. I’m sure I found a spot in the very back of that huge messed up parking lot that day, I’m sure I somehow managed to carry the two babies into the office and I’m sure I was late to the doctors appointment but I don’t think they cared and I don’t really remember. My girl got better, I paid the damn speeding ticket and life went on.

Fast forward to 7 years later I was being treated for stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma (breast cancer). You can see where I’m going with this oncology parking story now. My girls were 7 and 9 years old. I had been thru 3 surgeries and 6 months of chemo. It was one of the lowest points in my life. My songwriting all but stopped and performing had to be put on hold. Any energy I had left went to my girls.I felt like I was 99 years old and looked like a shell of my former self. I had no hair, I was anemic, underweight and depressed. And It was about to get a whole lot worse because I was facing 8 weeks of daily radiation. Most people get to do 5 or 6 weeks but because the cancer I had was advanced and there were multiple tumors I was going to receive the 2 week booster series! Lucky me! And I was lucky to have good insurance because of my husband’s job. It can mean the difference between life and death. I chose the closest radiation facility because the thought of driving somewhere very far in my condition seemed impossible. Unfortunately it was in the same building as my girls pediatricians office, the one with the crappy parking lot.

The first day of radiation arrived. I came in the front door and waited in a dirty chair next to a bunch of very old, very sick looking people all sitting around in identical gowns doing jigsaw puzzles. I felt very young and healthy compared to them. Some of them looked up and smiled as if to welcome me to the club I never asked to join. I felt sick to my stomach just thinking about what was about to happen. I tried to smile back hoping they would not notice my nausea. My initial scan would take 3 hours. They had to line up the radiation machine to my body and tattoo the markers on my chest and armpit to make sure it was always in the right position. The cancer was in my left breast and very close to my heart. Apparently radiating the heart is a no no. So they are particularly careful about the left chest.

A nurse named Debbie with long shiny brown hair called my name and asked me to follow her back. “I like your hair “ I said in an attempt to be friendly. “oh really? It’s such a pain” she replied. I thought to myself, now that was an insensitive thing to say to a bald woman. Honestly I would have been happy to have her eyelashes let alone her painful long hair. Just then we arrived at our first stop ….The robe closet. A long narrow closet with dozens of those identical hospital gowns all lined up in a row, touching each other. A special hanger was waiting there for me with my first name clearly printed on it. “Heres your fresh gown, we have too many patients and we don’t have time to wash them, so hang it up on your hanger every day when your done” she said in a cranky tone. I had seen some of those patients with oozing open sores in the lobby earlier and I really did not want to share any kind of bacteria in my weakened state. “Oh, ok. Are there any other Margaret’s?” I said half joking and half serious. She said “I don’t know. Just write your last name on it if your’e that worried” and rolled her eyes. Right then I decided that I did not like Debbie at all and I also decided I would tie the waistband in a secret double knot each day so I would know if anyone else had used my robe.

Once I had stripped down I was then led into a very scary white space aged looking room. They scanned me for what seemed like forever and then Debbie tattooed four black dots on my chest and arm pit. Before she did I asked her if they could use a sharpie instead and just reapply it every day or so because I did not want these black dots on my body forever. “No we cant do that” was all she said and she proceeded to tattoo my chest. “It helps if you smile” she had the nerve to say. Laying there under the bright lights with no clothes, only half of my scarred up left breast remaining and people coming and going everywhere was so dehumanizing. “I’ll smile when this is over bitch!!” I said in my head.

I got dressed and returned my gown to the hanger with my name on it. I then tied my secret knot which no one would ever be able to duplicate. Debbie said “Oh and by the way, you need to use the back entrance it is much easer and we have some parking spaces reserved for you right outside the door. That way you wont be late”. She faked a smile and pointed to the special exit. I walked down the hall opened the VIP door and there they were, the Oncology Parking spaces. I nearly fell over when I realized where I was, somewhere I never thought I would end up.So I quickly made a promise to myself that I would not be parking in one of those spots, not now and not ever. I felt like that would be giving up and admitting that I was an oncology patient. I have always believed in properly timed denial, or positive thinking if you wanna look at it that way.

I did not like this particular Radiology Group. The nurses were snippy, the doctors were weird and the carpets were dirty. I admit that I was beyond cranky and accept some of the responsibility for the tension that existed. But every other oncology doctor, nurse technician and surgeon I had run into during this little cancer journey thus far were all wonderful, understanding and kind. I had to accept the fact that I was stuck with them. It was too late to change facilities because they had already fitted my body to the machine and my insurance would not cover a redo. (I knew this because I called my insurance company that day and asked.).

Continued…..Oncology Parking Part 2

Margaret McClure

Please feel free to share this story with others who are facing similar battles. Margaret is an inspiration and I appreciate her sharing her story on this blog.

Roy Elkins

Founder, Broadjam, Google+, Music Industry Views, News & Reviews, Onliner Notes, MySpace

Additional links & good organizations – Madison Area Music Association, Willywash, Dallas Songwriters Association – one of the best in the business, Les Paul Foundation

Community, Great People, Great Songwriters, Music, Roy Elkins, Uncategorized

Donovan Tucker & The Gift

August 11, 2014 royelkinsorg@broadjam.com 1 Comment

Donovan Tucker & The Gift

Recently, I found out that one of our Broadjam members, Donovan Tucker, recently received a liver transplant. A medical procedure of this nature is not only life saving, but certainly changes the perspective of recipient it forever.

His story begins on October 31^st, 2013 at the UAMS hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. This is the day he received his new liver. After he returned home, he couldn’t help but think about the donor and his or her family. He was thankful for such a tremendous gift from a family that must have experienced a recent loss. He was moved to write a song in memory of his donor.

He originally wrote the lyrics, then asked fellow writer Adam Avery to help him complete it. When finished, he sent the song to the transplant team at the hospital. Soon after, he received a message from Arkansas Donate Life asking to use the song to promote organ donor awareness. He and Adam offered the song, “The Gift”, to help their cause. This version features the vocals of Julia Schmidt.

But the story doesn’t end there.

He forwarded his desire to meet the family of the donor as he wanted to show his appreciation. He was surprised to find out that the donor was female. Her son met with Donovan for lunch and lost his mom just a few months from graduating high school. The young man also lost his father in 2009. He said the young man has a great attitude and wants to be a doctor so he can help other and now considers him part of his own family.

I have never met Donovan Tucker, but he is one of my favorite writers and is truly one of the best who has ever graced the servers of Broadjam.com. Knowing the back story, The Gift is probably one of the most meaningful songs I have heard to date. And it certainly has been a gift to anyone who has heard it.

Please click on this link and it will take you to Donovan Tucker’s Home Website. From there, you will find more details to this wonderful story.

Roy Elkins

Founder, Broadjam, Music Industry Views, News & Reviews, Onliner Notes

Additional links & good organizations – Madison Area Music Association, Willywash, Dallas Songwriters Association – one of the best in the business, Les Paul Foundation

Blues, Country, Folk, Great People, Great Songwriters, Music, Roy Elkins

Nashville Joe – The Unconditional Friend & Songwriter

July 31, 2014 royelkinsorg@broadjam.com 6 Comments

Nashville Joe (Nashvillejoe) by Roy Elkins

Over the years, I have had the honor to get to know so many great people through the web and specifically through our website, Broadjam. Most of whom, I have never met. One of those great people, and probably the most popular on our site, is Joe Hendrickson of Punta Gorda, Florida.

Every time I see a post from Nashville Joe, I smile. He always has something positive to say about everyone he meets in person or on the web. His profile photo is of him sitting on a tractor holding a can of something with his personality showing through his smile.

He has uploaded about 35 or so songs and one of my favorites is a song called Christmas Blues. He continues to be one of our top reviewers as well with over 2000 to his credit. He is one the most prolific reviewers in the 15 year history of Broadjam.

When one looks at his profile, you can see he is a well loved guy. In just the past week alone, his comments page is an ongoing conversation with the “Who’s Who” of Broadjam – PGO, Diana Rasmussen, Hank Thomas, Julia Schmidt, DeDe, Cyndi Corkran, Earl C. Webb, Tappin’ Tommy, Penny Towers and Marie Preston.

When one gets the idea for a website , they can only hope for members like Nashville Joe . With all of the negative issues that plague the internet, Joe brings a bright spot into so many lives on a daily basis. He is an unconditional friend to so many people he has never met in person. Thank you Joe for being who you are and bringing so much positive energy to so many.

Roy Elkins

Founder, Broadjam, Music Industry Views, News & Reviews, Onliner Notes

Additional links & good organizations – Madison Area Music Association, Willywash, Dallas Songwriters Association – one of the best in the business, Merlin Mentors – Great org that helps young entrepreneurs, Les Paul Foundation, Wisconsin Foundation for School Music

Press & educational links – Hangout June 6, 2014, “Blanket” Music Licensing, Industry Projections, Celebrating Sonic Foundry, A Music Platform, Project Famous – Great Photographer, Models of Opportunity: How Entrepreneurs Design Firms

Community, Great Organizations, Great People, Madison, Roy Elkins

Willywash Project – Madison City Creed

July 26, 2014 royelkinsorg@broadjam.com 1 Comment

Willywash: Below I have posted the Madison City Creed for the Willy Wash Project. Please note this was transcribed grammatically “as is” from the original. Roy Elkins

Here is a link to an article the Willywash group.

I BELIEVE IN MADISON, The Four Lake City.

I BELIEVE in her PAST achievement, in the men and women who created and conserved that I might produce and earn, enabling me to buy and pay, in the courage of her pioneers whose wisdom and foresight built between these lakes a well – planned organic city, every foot of whose ground is worth in gold its market value because the brain and brawn of man has added wealth to nature’s own endowment.

I believe in the reality of her PRESENT, a present that combines the push and friendliness of the newer West with the reflection and poise of the older East, a present which makes her the distributing center of one of the most productive agricultural sections of America, the heart of the richest dairy region in the world, the location of going industry and commerce, and the focus point of miles of railroad trackage, that converges into this hub like the spokes of a wheel from nine directions, a present that makes her the seat of the government for forward Wisconsin, the home of the state university that spells freedom and utility, and the birthplace of so powerful an influence for the well-being of humanity that thousands are attracted annually to this center of achievement in democracy.

I believe in her ability to become the FUTURE, a city of even greater influence and power, a city destined to become the abode of one hundred thousand people, where the poor shall be less unhappy, the rich less self-satisfied, for the one shall have a more intelligent understanding of the other; where jails shall be empty of prisoners, streets clear of beggars and neither shall the aged in want be cast upon the charity of strangers; a city where friends shall be true friends; neighbors real neighbors; a city where the strong shall really sympathize with the weak; where there shall be even more respect for those who have traveled the longer road; and even more hopeful confidence in the promise of glowing youth; a city where progress shall be the result of retaining the good of the old and accepting the tried of the new, where co-operative competition shall be the ideal in trade, live and let live the slogan of business, serve others well to successfully serve self the policy of industry and commerce; and finally, where each and every citizen shall be a community builder in fact, as now in name.

AND I PLEDGE TO MY CITY a more complete understanding of her problems, a more liberal conception of her limitations, a more hopeful attitude toward her possibilities, a more generous contribution to her needs, and a more active participation in the broader functions of her citizenship in order that my city may become a greater credit to herself, to Wisconsin, to America and to God because of my having lived in Madison, “The Four Lake City.”

If you would like to get involved in the Willywash project, please go to the Willywash website or leave your comments here.

Roy Elkins

Founder, Broadjam, Music Industry Views, News & Reviews, Onliner Notes

Great People, Music

Great People – John Aguilera

July 25, 2014 royelkinsorg@broadjam.com Leave a comment

Great People – John Aguilera

Today was John Aguilera’s last day at Broadjam. Better known as Pistolero, John has been with us for almost five years as our graphic designer. To say he was just a graphic designer would be an understatement as he did so much more for the company. He handled lots of incoming member requests and was always lending a hand to other projects outside his are of expertise. After graduating from Madison Media Institute, he joined Broadjam as a cataloguer and quickly demonstrated his ability and desire to take on more responsibility. He has been talking about moving closer to home for some time now as his folks are several hours from the Broadjam offices. Although he won’t be working with us day-to-day, our guess is that he will still be assisting in some capacity once he gets settled. He is one of those people that everyone just likes to be around and it won’t be the same without him. Here a few thoughts from some of his co-workers:

We’ll miss John for several reasons. He’s always been a hard-working, fun member of the office, and up for a joke. I’m not sure who I’ll talk wrestling with now… I may have to finally inundate my wife. Here’s wishing John a bright future and plenty of opportunity – he deserves it! Anthony

John Aguilera. Helluva nice guy. Young and fun (always great to hear his stories of Madison Millennial nightlife!), reliably positive and easy to get along with, but the best part was that he was full of hidden talents that revealed themselves when you needed them the most.

One day we were talking about graphic design and out of the blue, he’s just like, “You know, I’m pretty good at graphics.” And I’m like, alright, “why don’t you make a banner ad?” And he did and it was awesome, so he quickly became the go-to guy for graphics. When I was working on a video for the Broadjam YouTube channel, he goes “You need any help? I have a degree in video production.” WHAT?! I’d already been here for months working on stuff, when I had a guy that was extraordinarily capable right here! From then on, he became a go to partner in creating the content behind Broadjam.

It was a pleasure working creatively with someone so talented as well a the kind of person that you want to crack open a PBR Tall Boy with at a show!

Mike

One of the greatest parts of working with John was watching his graphic arts skills blossom at an amazing speed. I’ll also miss John for the great spirit and fun that he brought to the office. Pistolero was good-natured about all of the joking around I did at his expense. I know this because he never did deliver that stinger that I deserved on so many occasions.

Matt

Watching John interact with everyone in the office as he is just awesome to work with. His conversations with Matt were hilarious at times. He can dish it out and takes it with grace, but most of time just ignores the pile drivers coming his way. The more I worked with him, the more I realized how talented he is. He is probably one of the nicest colleagues I’ve worked with and will be greatly missed by all of us.

Roy

Roy Elkins

Founder, Broadjam, Thoughts On The Music Industry

Great Organizations, Great People, Great Songwriters, Music, Music Business

Dallas Songwriters Association Annual Songwriting Contest

July 17, 2014 royelkinsorg@broadjam.com Leave a comment

For the past several years, I have had the honor of being the Grand Prize Judge of the Dallas Songwriters Association annual songwriting contest. In my opinion, the DSA is the premier songwriting organization in the country. Not only do they hold their grandaddy songwriting competition annually, they hold numerous other events monthly that are all focused on perfecting the craft of songwriting. In July alone, there are 7 events on their calendar including open mics, song swaps, a workshop, a showcase, a cultural exchange and they’ve just launched their annual contest. Congrats to Barbe McMillen and the entire group at the Dallas Songwriters Association as the organization is celebrating their 27th anniversary in 2014.

This year will be the 10th year I have been involved (I think it’s 10) in the Dallas Songwriters Association contest and some of the best independent songs I have ever heard came through this competition. As I was creating this blog, I was looking at the reviews from the previous years. My guess is that I have written about 100 or so reviews about the top songs. Kudos to the writers as I remember just about every song in the list. Lots of good memorable stuff.

Below I have posted some of my favorites that I found links to on Broadjam.

Do You Believe by Jay + Tonic, Delete by Noel Cohen, No Hard Feelings by Shane Martin, Hell Freezes Over by Liz Miller & Tom Stipe, The Morning You by Andy Taylor, My Devil Does by Will Hopkins and Dig Into Reading by Randy Sauer. These are just a few of the winners.

My favorite to date is still Here’s To Love, by the Michael George Band. It’s a song about peace and done so tastefully with a deep baritone voice. No matter what mood you’re in when you listen to this song, you will feel at peace by the end of it. That’s the brilliance of it. This is also in my personal all time favorite playlist.

Here is the winners blog for further reading.

If you would like to read reviews of other songs, please visit Onliner Notes. Lots of great songs and feedback is featured there.

If you are a songwriter, whether you live in Dallas or not, give the contest a shot. You can enter it here at Broadjam. If you live in Dallas, get involved with the Dallas Songwriters Association and you will become a better songwriter.

Roy Elkins

Founder, Broadjam, Thoughts On The Music Industry

Good things and people in the world