Indiegrrl Women in the Arts is a nonprofit group that was created in 1998 to become a network offering charity, educational and showcasing opportunities in music, comedy and spoken word to women. Their annual conference returns to Nashville August 20th through August 23rd at the Hotel Preston and features over 140 showcase events including a vendor exhibit hall trade show and Q&A panels with music industry professionals; workshops and song pitch sessions. The conference also features ongoing performances on different stages and rooms by female fronted acts.
Concerts are being held in Santa Monica at The Talking Stick by Gaia Productions, TK Promotions and Nette Radio to promote artists from Los Angeles who will be attending this year’s conference in Nashville. Two of those artists are Amy Clarke (www.amyclarke.com) and Amanda Abazaid (www.amandaabazaid.com).
Amy Clarke is a soulful pianist and she performed at and helped produce two Indiegrrl shows at The Talking Stick and Café Muse in late July. Amanda Abazaid is a Lebanese-American singer/songwriter who plays nothing less than the guitar, piano and flute. She played both of these shows as part of her mission to represent Indiegrrl across the country through her LA Women Summer Tour (lawomansummertour.com).
The first concert at The Talking Stick on July 27th presented by TK Promotions featured a mix of guitarists and pianists. The “TK” in TK Promotions stands for Toni Koch, creator of Pitch-A-Song ™ Series of Industry Events (www.myspace.com/pitchasong), an anticipated panel at this year’s Indiegrrl conference. Toni says Nashville is not just about country, “Every station plays something different here. You’ll hear all styles of music. This is Music City, U.S.A.!” Toni was in Nashville promoting Pitch-A-Song and the State of the Industry panels as well as workshops produced in association with COSMO - the Coalition of Songwriter and Music Organization (www.cosmocoalition.org) and Women's Radio (www.womensradio.com). To further increase support of this year’s event Toni met with industry professionals including Ralph Murphy, VP of Memberships at ASCAP, NSAI’s Legislative Director Debi Cochran, and Dave Tough, Assistant Professor of Audio Engineering Technology at Belmont University.
Artists can submit up to three songs for consideration to be selected for the Pitch-A-Song (TM). At least twenty submissions will be selected to be listened to live in front of an audience and the industry panel in Nashville. If you are selected you are required to attend or arrange to have a representative go in your place. The deadline for advanced submissions is August 15th and Toni is accepting MP3s and mail-ins. Toni requests an email inquiry at pitchasong@gmail.com for a submission form and guidelines. Walk up submissions will be accepted at the conference but only three to five additional applicants will be selected at that time. “We accept all genres and I listen to each song personally and then again with my committee. I’m really serious about getting quality indie music into the hands of people who can make hits or place the music further.”
Toni and publisher Robert A. Case will conduct a workshop on catalog development, emphasizing new revenue streams in today’s market. Toni reiterates, “This is about inspiring and empowering the indie artist. There is a market, but it’s becoming tight so your music has to be special. This is about placement. Not just for a whole song, but for bits and pieces that might work for film, television, and the digital market.”
The second concert for Indiegrrl in L.A. at Café Muse on July 31st was hosted by Amy Clarke and her environmental charity group Gaia Grove (www.gaiagrove.org). Amy announced the lineup of nine artists was a reflection of the nine muses, from Euterpe the muse of music to Erato, the muse of erotic poetry. And there was plenty of erotic poetry from spoken word performance artist Nance Draco and her snake Draco who spent the evening clutching to the chopsticks in Nance’s hair. Beginning the series of two song rounds, Athena Reich who had just flown in from New York to promote her fifth album Little Girl Dreams adjusted her piano bench and asked, “Do you see someone with a snake in their hair every day in L.A.?” To which everyone in the audience gave a resounding, “YES!”
Annette Conlon is the voice of Nette Radio (www.netteradio.com) and while she won’t be attending this year’s Indiegrrl conference she did host a showcase sponsored by Daisy Rock on August 14th at The Talking Stick to promote musicians performing at the Nette Radio/Rockin Mom stage at the conference.
Shannon Hurley will stand in for Nette in Nashville. Nette calls Hurley her “favorite example” of a true Indiegrrl, “People should know that Nashville is more than country music. Shannon was one of Rolling Stone’s top 25 Myspace artists. She was here in L.A. but moved to Nashville and her stuff is pop. It’s not country at all. But now she can work with great songwriters on her craft and get her songs written, sold, and placed. She is already playing the world famous Bluebird Café. If you have talent, drive and dedication it has nothing to do with country, but everything to do with music.” Shannon performs August 21st at the Nette Radio/Rockin Mom stage from 8 to 8:20.
Songsalive founder Gilli Moon will also trek from L.A. As a newly inducted Indiegrrl Honorary member for 2009 she will receive a plaque at the opening banquet dinner on August 20th. Gilli is joining in a Q&A session with Indiegrrl President Vicki Blankenship and founder Holly Figueroa O’Reilly. While Songsalive (www.songsalive.org) will not have any showcases on or off site, they will have a booth and they are a sponsor. Gilli continues, “A lot of Indiegrrls are Songsalive members. We’re definitely supporting and congregating.” Gilli will also be conducting a workshop, “Secrets to DIY Indie Marketing, Promotion, and Touring Success.” Gilli explains, “The premise is to inspire artists by giving them tips and tools on how to get out there on their own.”
To register to attend this year’s event or become a volunteer go to the official Indiegrrl website at www.indiegrrl.com.
