The Key West Music Awards - The Iggies
Hey everyone!
(I'm slapping this together under the influence of Chemo, so please excuse me if I start going off the rails HA HA HA! )
Key West is starting it's Iggy's awards, also known as The Key West Music Awards and I figure it's high time that I get on the stick and promote myself, which I really don't do all that well, truth be told. On the flip side, if one doesn't do it themselves, it will never get done. Naturally, there's a link to vote!
https://keywestmusicawards.com/nominate/
As you read below, you'll see what I do is really not what other artists about town do. One artist may be a virtuoso guitar player, another may play the violin, someone else the sax. Now take these super talented artists and look at their Facebook page. When they list what they do musically the first thing they say they is that they are a guitar player, or a violinist, or a sax player. With The Shanty Hounds I do play lead and slide guitar. and I also sing nearly 1/2 of our songs. However, if you look at what I do, the very first thing listed is "Songwriter", because primarily, that's what I am, a songwriter.
So, here are a few things that hopefully may assist in your vote!
1) I am a published songwriter. There are very few published songwriters about town. As a matter of fact, I'm published in both Nashville and London U.K. This means very little to someone who is potentially going to cast a vote. It's certainly not their fault. 95% musicians don't get what publishing is either! It's kind of like handing the person next to you a wrench and saying to them "Oh! Here's a wrench! Can you please fix my car?" and they're reply is "Uh, I'm a flight attendant". :-D
For starters, an artist overall doesn't go out searching for a publisher. To the contrary, a publisher searches out songwriters. The publisher's job is to search out songs that could make both parties a living. As Frank Zappa said "Never give away your publishing". Of course there is a compensation for both the publisher and the artist. Most of these are, to keep things simple, a 50/50 split these days. The publisher will try and place a song with another artist, or perhaps a commercial enterprise. Some say "Oh! Bubbling Joe sold out!". Actually Bubbling Joe didn't "sell out". When he signed with his new publisher, that gave the rights of placement to the publisher. Without that, the publisher wouldn't have signed with the artist to begin with. Think of Bob Seger's song "Like A Rock" that was use in Chevrolet pick up trucks adds for years and years. Bob Seger's publisher put that deal together. The artist doesn't put there deals together, they are too busy writing songs and being an artist. That's their strong point. Overall, the artists brain works on a creative left side of the brain, while the publisher's brain works on the right side. Consequently, publishers know both music and the music business inside and out. Their income depends on it. Over all, these people are experts in the field.
As I mentioned, I am published in in Nashville, as well as London, England.
As far as I know, there are no artists in Key West, or in the genre that I loosely fall into, Trop Rock (among others), who are published in both North America and also Europe.
As a matter of fact, very, very few artists are published at all. Thank you to both McClure and Trowbridge Nashville, and Millennium in London U.K.
That's important so I'll say it again, if you don't mind, as it's significant:
As far as I know, there are no songwriters in Key West, or in the genre that I loosely fall into, Trop Rock, (among others)who are published in both The United States and also Europe.:
2) Versatility.
The vast majority of local artists focus naturally on type of music they play. That's great for them! While they might write their own songs, their main focus may be an entertainer, a guitarist, a vocalist. For myself, my main focus is being a songwriter. For me it's a breath of fresh air to try something new!
Here's a twist. As a songwriter I have some songs that I don't even play on! Here's one I wrote and recorded for suicide prevention, "Sunshine and Roses". I wrote the music. I wrote the lyrics, I did the arrangement, however, by my own design, I didn't play on the recording, nor did I sing on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiiRLjnqUi0&list=RDIiiRLjnqUi0&start_radio=1
Vitally important and imperative:
If one is a songwriter, one has to know when to check their ego at the door.
Here's another, totally different than "Sunshine and Roses", Totally different genres. "Morning Coffee" is Mediterranean jazz, while "Sunshine and Roses" is Nashville Country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TKJdpCY_FQ
Yet another style, here are The Shanty Hounds (Dani Hoy and myself) playing with "The Ramble" house band at Key West Theater doing my song "Yippie Cayo Hueso"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A3nji9MNm0&list=RD1A3nji9MNm0&start_radio=1
Over the years I've written in Rock, Brazilian, Blues, Country, Motown, Funk, Bahamian, Afro-Cuban., South Pacific... I do my best to keep it well rounded :-)
https://keywestmusicawards.com/nominate/
I'll be shooting for Songwriter of the year, and with Dani and the Shanty Hounds Entertainer of the Year (Dani Hoy), Duo of the Year The Shanty Hounds), Vocalist of the year (Dani Hoy), Rock Act of the year - The Shanty Hounds
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