The series held at 12th & Porter features incredible talent and diversity that we’re proud to have representing us. From the artistry of heartfelt traditional country music, to explosive southern rock, undeniably radio-friendly pop country, and brilliantly crafted rock music, these beautiful and talented artists are exploding on the scene with a high-energy performance and showcasing songs they’ve penned with the hit-makers of the Nashville scene!

They’re laying it all out on the line for us at 12th & Porter, and this night has quickly become “the event to attend”! Hope you can join us Monday Night at 12th & Porter 6 pm! No Cover!

Congratulations to ADN’s rock artist, Jett Mason whose showcases at Nashville’s 12th and Porter have been a huge success! Kent Wells of Kent Wells Productions is doing a wonderful job putting together these major label showcases for their artists and ours!

Enjoy the youtube video of Jett’s live performance at 12th and Porter!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYjP7cVhqNU

Love,
Cathy Lemmon and the ADN staff

We are so excited and happy to announce some really fantastic news about James Breedwell.  As some of you already know, besides co-writing with many of our clients, James Breedwell hosts several songwriter’s nights here in Nashville where many of our songwriter and artist clients have had the privilege to perform their originals songs. 

The amazing 10 year old little girl “Jackie Evancho” who shocked the world last week with her unbelievable voice and performance on the popular television show “America’s Got Talent” has an incredible song called “Teaching Angels How To Fly”, which James Breedweel wrote, and and it’s on Jackie’s album!  Last year Jackie Evancho was a guest on one of  James’ writer’s nights, and he pitched her his the song, which she fell in love with. We are all so proud of the song and Jackie’s amazing vocal talent!  Let’s make sure Jackie Evancho wins “America’s Got Talent”!  You can vote for her up to 10 times a day after her next performance airs!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKhmFSV-XB0

Good job James and Jackie!

Love,
Cathy Lemmon and the ADN staff

BIO

Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, James Breedwell landed an exclusive writing deal with Laurelwood Entertainment a few years after coming to the Music City. As a Writer for Artist Development Network, he is still putting pen to paper writing songs that touch the heart, bring tears to an eye, or put a smile on a face. His music encompasses diverse flavors (gospel, country, pop, rock, jazz & R&B), offering well-crafted lyrics, melodies, and style.

James has shared the pen with 20 major artists, and written on songs with very talented writers and producers such as Keith Floyd (After 7-Babyface produced them); Big Vinny from Trailer Choir (Toby Keith is producing them); and hit writer, Kostas. In 2009 James landed a cut with singing sensation Jackie Evancho who recently captivated the world on America’s Got Talent.

His extensive musical background also includes writing with Blake Shelton, Joe Nichols, Craig Morgan, and many other talented artists and songwriters, including 6 Number 1 Songwriters of the Year, which include Craig Wiseman who wrote “Live Like You’re Dying” for Tim McGraw & “I Believe” for Brooks & Dunn; Tia Sellers wrote “I Hope You Dance” for Leann Womack; Danny Wells & Dana Oglesby wrote “Check Yes or No” for George Strait; Eddie Kilgallon wrote “One Night at a Time” for George Strait, & Brett James wrote “Jesus Take the Wheel” for Carrie Underwood. He has also written with Top Vocal Coach to the Stars and an awesome songwriter, Brett Manning.

James hosts very successful Writers Nights and Radio Shows where top Writers and Artists enjoy listening to, and finding some of the best songs in Nashville.

While checking out a writers round one night, I spotted a previous client of Artist Development Network, the one and only, Jesse Lee. She took the stage and rocked the house! We are very proud of her and her accomplishments! A little hard work and a little dedication, combined with the services you could find at Artist Development Network, could take you to the next level, just like Jesse! But if you’re just looking for a great vacation in a great location, with an added bonus of catching a couple dozen hit Nashville songwriters doing their thing and having a good time, then I believe the 2011 Key West Songwriters Festival is for you!

http://gettingserious.homestead.com/Articles.html

Chet came on board as a song writer client in 2009, and he’s an example of what all serious song writers should be doing…..Chet is always writing, always promoting his songs, networking with other writers and singers and getting his songs heard by radio and internet stations, competitions, and wherever he can share and promote his music.

Here’s one of Chet’s songs he co-wrote with ADN song writer Larry Clark, called “Before She Can’t Remember”. It’s a tender heart-felt song about Chet’s mother. The song was nominated and won “Song of The Month” on www.songramp.com.

Way to go Chet! Keep up the good work! Twist of Lemmon Music is proud to be your publisher!

BEFORE SHE CAN’T REMEMBER

Chet A Blum / Larry Wayne Clark
C2009 – - – All Rights Reserved

I say, Mom how was camp Switona
That summer of thirty-three?
She says, Oh it was great I swam the lake
All the boys were after me
I say mom did you have fun yesterday?
I don’t know what did I do?
I remind her that we were together
Oh that’s right I had lunch with you

Chorus: I tell her it’s not her fault
She’s outlived her memory
I want her to know how much I love her
Before she can’t remember me

I wish I could make her young again
Give back what the seasons stole
Once I leaned on her, now she leans on me
As parent and child change roles
She looks at me with frightened eyes
Says, why did things end this way?
And I put my arms around her
There’s really not much to say

Chorus: I tell her it’s not her fault
She’s outlived her memory
I want her to know how much I love her
Before she can’t remember me

Bridge: Yesteryear’s faded glories
Are there for her to claim
But I see the clouds in her eyes
When she call me by my brother’s name

Chorus: I tell her it’s not her fault
She’s outlived her memory
I want her to know how much I love her
I’m trying to show how much I love her
Before she can’t remember me

Many of you know that Taylor Swift won the night’s most coveted prize, Album Of The Year. Her sophomore release, “Fearless”, took the nation by storm and catapulted her into superstardom. The Zac Brown Band won the award for Best New Artist, beating out several pop acts. Lady Antebellum took home an award for Best Vocal Group in the Country category, and they offered a thrilling performance of their newest smash hit, “Need You Now”.

So what is it that these three big winners have in common? They are ALL songwriters! Taylor Swift, the Zac Brown Band, and Lady Antebellum either wrote or co-wrote almost every song on their respective albums! This is a growing trend in the Country genre and I believe that it is a step in the right direction for music. The most important thing I learned while watching the Grammy Awards is that it takes AMAZING songs to win the hearts of millions. If you’re discouraged that you have the vocal talent and the drive to succeed, but have yet to take a dive into songwriting, don’t lose hope.

Here at Artist Development Network, you are able to co-write with wonderful songwriters on staff, as they take your ideas and work with you to mold your perfect masterpiece. So what are you waiting for? Come write a song with us!

My mother wore the same outfit, so often, that it eventually became known as her uniform. She drove an ugly, white Rambler station wagon with no power steering, no power breaks, no air conditioning, a one speaker AM radio and crank down windows. Oh… yes, she drove that car for almost two decades too, in an area of town where the average car was a fully loaded Chevrolet, not more than two years old.

I would put together a Christmas list every year, and no matter how much I wanted to believe in Santa Claus, only necessities would arrive on Christmas morning. Privately I suspected that my father had gotten to Santa and somehow corrupted his generous and giving nature. Are you starting to get the picture here? My father was so tight… that he squeaked while walking.

Was this really a bad thing? In hindsight, I’d have to say no. I did feel a bit like an unwanted stepchild when all the other kids had way better stuff than I did. And this was especially true regarding musical instruments. I started playing drums on the plastic lids of empty coffee cans while most of my young friends had brand new, champagne sparkle Ludwigs drum sets. But as I’ve learned, thanks to facebook, I’m also the only one of the batch that went pro. Maybe fighting and scraping and clawing my way up through the ranks was in fact, a good thing for me. Lord knows, I couldn’t wow anybody with a homemade, make shift drum set. I was pretty much forced into a competitive position where I had to look, play and perform better than the guys that had all the cool new toys.

Today, I am very aware of my blessings. Seeing doctors and lawyers and professional guys at the local Guitar Center does make me chuckle sometimes. Life is not without a sense of irony. Here these guys are, finally in a position where they can afford anything their hearts desire. Some of them have basements full of Gibson guitars and pricey boutique amps. But here’s the ironic part… the thing they don’t have is the time or the days left it will take to learn to play those beautiful guitars well.

So what’s the lesson here guys? I don’t really know… I’m just rambling. Certainly I’m not pointing fingers or making jokes at anyone’s expense. But I do recall my father’s words from years past as I write this today. I was in grammar school at the time. I think I was griping to him about the fact that Larry DeNino (a fellow 4th grader and drummer) had a beautiful new set of drums to play the local talent contest with, while I had some ratty, duct-taped thing made my Mattel. And I remember my father’s rebuttal to my passionate pleas for immediate musical sponsorship. He said: “there are two types of musicians, David… those that polish their instruments and those that practice their instruments. Be the later, my son.”

And by the way, in case you were wondering… I did win that talent show, which left Larry DeNino more than just a little pissed off.

So practice your instruments, young’ns. Your songs deserve that much.

Contact David Harper at:

musicbydavid@gmail.com

Drea was the star of a television series in Pittsburgh last October. The producer would like her to make another episode with the show sometime next month.

Secondly, she won a beauty pageant and is going to the Ms. Pennsylvania contest next June. It is a precursor to the Ms. America Pageant.

Third, she is auditioning for the Wilhelmina Modeling Agency, New York this Saturday for a chance to be represented in films, tv, print etc.

She is still singing and is performing next month for her community’s “Light up Night.” Plus she just signed up with Mike Weiber on New Groove Music last month.

Without a great image, it would be like going into the recording studio with the most talented and amazing musicians, and then recording terrible, boring songs that have absolutely no commercial appeal. The word “artist” gives us the visual of something extra ordinary, a beautiful painting, something fresh and breath taking, a work of art. You are an artist.

Think about some of your favorite artists. What kind of image comes to mind? Garth Brooks, for example, a great entertainer who took the world by storm, bringing a rock edge to Country. He was always the well-dressed artist in his pressed jeans, cowboy shirts, and cowboy hats.

How about Reba McEntire? Born in Oklahoma, then living on a horse ranch in Tennessee, Reba is the artist with the down to earth personality, western clothes and boots, and natural Southern draw, which made her instantly famous, with her one of a kind country voice. She’s the real deal, and now almost 20 years later, she is still remembered as the queen of Country music. Equally remembered is George Strait, who we could call the king of Country. Like Reba, George Strait lives on a ranch, (in Texas), rides horses, and lives the real cowboy life, and his music reflects his values and style.

When I think of Miley Cyrus, I see a confident, very talented bubbly young star with a unique deep voice. She’s an artist who is full of energy and personality.  Now this teen has a fashionable image, young and spirited, fun and expressive. Miley even has her own line of clothing at Wal-Mart!  They have done well with her image! An actress on Disney television, now a star on the big screen and selling records and sold out concerts all over the world. Many young girls wear Miley’s style of clothes because she set a new trend that is classy and cute, and very popular.

Some of us older folks remember Boy George. Now he had a unique image. Strange, yes, unusual, but that’s what he was trying to portray, and we were all curious about the man. There’s no question who he was as an artist. Alice Cooper was another artist with a strange image. It kept us interested to see what weird thing they would do next.

Look at Taylor Swift, the teen sensation who took everyone by surprise. Young girls love her. They feel and relate to the songs she writes and sings about. Like her songs, her image is sweet, and simple, and she’s beautiful, fun, and stylish!

Brittney Spears was the all American, multi-talented singer/dancer, entertainer. Unfortunately, a few poor choices took away her squeaky- clean image.  Nevertheless, for a while, she was on top of the world, and every girl wanted to be Brittney Spears.  One thing we can learn from this artist is that it can be difficult to win your fans over and regain their trust once you’ve let them down. Therefore, what an artist says and does in public, and can help or hinder their reputation. The cameras are always rolling when you are a celebrity, and you have a responsibility to the media and to your fans. It comes with the territory.

I have a picture that was taken of Tim McGraw and me around 1994 when his first single came out, “Indian Outlaw“. He stopped at Printer’s Alley here in Nashville, TN, at a club that was called “Barbara’s”, and most people do not recognize Tim McGraw in that photo. He was thin, probably not working out regularly, nothing really special to look at.  But he morphed into a sexy, well-oiled machine, with a unique image everyone today recognizes. What a difference! Tim is always sharply dressed, w/cowboy hat, nicely trimmed goatee and long side burns, an image that really works for him.  He’s the singer with family values, heart-felt songs we all relate to. His wife, Faith Hill, is the beautiful blonde by his side, natural, wholesome, earthy, and amazingly stunning. They both have done well off and on stage, and have been successful on the big screen.

The topic of the lecture that day was behavior. Actually, the more precise topic was the behavior of woodpeckers –government funded, of course. LOL (insert comedic drum riff here). Anyway, Dr. No-Chin (professor) had stumbled upon the details of the woodpecker study, and like me, he found it quite interesting.

The story goes as follows: Top scientists had apparently fabricated a telephone pole from steel that looked, smelled and probably felt like real wood (at least at the surface). These “top” scientists temporarily erected several of these massive mirages in wooded areas where wildlife flourished to study the effects of synthetic but familiar props within the habitat. The story of the woodpeckers, and their determination to keep drilling holes in these steel poles is what has stuck with me all these years.

According to the good professor, the woodpeckers never gave up! Those cute little critters would pound away at these steel monstrosities until they literally bashed their little brains and beaks in. It was kind of sad, really, now that I think about the net result of their efforts. But what has kept this story alive in my mind over the years is that at no point did these genetically-hardwired creatures ever stop to evaluate their progress, their health, if it was working, or…the fact that they were dying. Hmm. See where we’re going with this?

I think aspiring songwriters and singer/songwriters have more in common with those little woodpeckers than we’d like to admit. Not all of us, of course. A small percentage of us have excellent self-management skills, a great work ethic, and ultimately we see our careers skyrocketing. But by and large, the other 90% of us tend to bang away at the same, no-win situations, and then wonder why nothing changes.

I see this puzzling reality all too often at Artist Development Network, where I work. Singer/songwriters come to us for…well, developing. Duh. It’s a very different type of business. I honestly have days where I feel much more like a psychiatrist than a staff writer and A&R guy. Yes, the average day for me is anything but average. I deal with sensitive, artistic personalities that have been around the block long enough to realize that things aren’t going to happen for them without professional help. They usually have above average intelligence. They are usually pretty, handsome, well-funded, great singers; but all have one thing in common: most have been trying the same things for years without success.

And let me tell you, changing behavior is a very difficult thing to do. Creative people, as I’m learning, are quite habitual. Just changing the way a particular line is sung can take hours in the recording studio. It’s very hard to re-learn things.

I have discovered, for instance, that simply changing hairstyles is pretty much a life-altering event for most men. You want to see how weird things can really get here? Sit in my office and watch what happens when a guy is told that perhaps his hair needs some attention, and that we’ve booked an appointment with a stylist. I’m pretty good with words, but what follows is usually not something I can adequately describe. Yes, the average male can dig in faster than a gopher in the path of a John Deer when hair is involved. The same thing goes for stage clothing and image. Most guys don’t easily get the fact that those jeans that Keith Urban wears for his album covers—the ones that cost about $100 per hole—are quite a bit more stylin’ than the Levi’s he plans on wearing to his next photo shoot.

The fact is, becoming a star means a lot of things. Suddenly, everybody’s nitpicking and detail-oriented. And there’s a good reason for this, too. Opportunities are not endless. Careers have expiration dates. You can’t blow it. Artists need to present themselves at their best, right out of the gate. Fans become fans when obvious and not-so-obvious conditions are met. The smallest details, the right clothes, the right hair, the right expressions, etc can add up to huge success or failure. We can’t possibly see this stuff objectively, for ourselves. We are, after all, the owners of our own bubbles.

So experts are called in, and Artist Development Network is basically a team of purported experts. It’s a tricky thing to do too. We’re on thin ice when it comes to image and intangible concerns. But we actually do know what works for our artists. And it’s not a “one size fits all” deal, either. I can honestly tell you that I would have signed Joe Cocker if he had been in my office 30 years ago looking for a label deal. I would not have tried to fix his hair, or that “I just got out of my wheelchair” dancing style he has. It all suits him and works as his own, unique artist package. But we also know when things don’t work. Cathy Lemmon (Artist Development Network Owner) has a finely tuned antenna for this sort of thing. She handles the bulk of the image-related duties here. She formulates an itinerary for positive image changes in the blink of an eye, sizing up singer/songwriters with a single glance.

So we concentrate on these things. They’re important. Weight, song selection, outfit choice, makeup, camera technique, stage patter, image…they’re all very important to your future. The whole package has to work. And if you weren’t blessed with a face that belongs on the cover of Cosmopolitan or GQ magazine, you can at least make whatever improvements are possible. Take a little lesson from Dolly Parton’s words in the movie Steel Magnolias, a classic. Dolly, a hairdresser who ran her own beauty shop in a small town, looked at her new apprentice (played by Darryl Hannah) and said: “Now remember sweetie…there’s no such thing as natural beauty.”

Back to the woodpecker thing: Don’t be one. You must have a working compass of your own, some direction. But you definitely need to stop doing things that don’t work if you’d like to see success. That alone is a great start if you aspire to be signed with a major label someday or have a hit song in the top 10 as a writer. After you’ve stopped doing things that don’t work, after you’ve cleared that hurdle, you can begin fine tuning and tweaking the little details.

I call that progress. Change is good.

Contact David Harper at:

musicbydavid@gmail.com