DSA Monthly Meeting - Thursday, June 12th, 2025

Location: Your home via ZOOM
6:30 pm: Open portal and networking
7:00 pm: Program followed by song critiques for members
Zoom ID # 617 432 0082 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6174320082
 

 

Featuring Michael R. J. Roth!

We are very pleased to have one of our own members, Michael Roth, as our guest speaker this month! For those who don't know Michael, he is a prolific singer/songwriter and poet based in Panama City, FL., well-known for his music and poetry for over five decades. He has received multiple songwriter lyric awards with songs that are characterized by their emotional depth and profound truth and have been drawn from Michael's life experiences and observations. He has been recognized as the "one to watch" by the Nashville Songwriters Association International and has performed as various venues including the Tiny Desk. His recent victory in the American Songwriter lyric contest for his song "Love Washes Off" highlights his talents and contribution to the music industry. At this month's meeting Michael is going to talk about the American Songwriter experience and recording in Nashville. Also, Shane Whalen, who leads American Songwriter's Contests, Membership and E-Commerce communities will be attending to provide additional insight to American Songwriter, so you won't want to miss this meeting!

Also, get your new songs critiqued by industry pro Barbe McMillen and be considered for the 2025 Member Song Contest and Songwriter of the Year. You can go to the Dallas Songwriters website (see link below) to enter your song, or you can play them live. When you go to the website look for "Forms" on the upper right-hand corner of the page then point to "Song Critiques" and the form will show up. You can type in the lyrics or cut & paste. For the song audio go to "Choose File" and load your audio file(s), limit of 3 songs per meeting. You can pay online via the critique form, and the cost is $10 per song.

DSA Monthly Meeting - April - May 2025

DSA Monthly Meetings -

Location: Your home via ZOOM
6:30 pm: Open portal and networking 

7:00 pm: Program followed by song critiques for members

Zoom ID # 617 432 0082  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6174320082

 

 Thursday, May 8th

 

This month's meeting features Chris Albert, a prolific singer/songwriter that has been performing for over 40 years!  He is also a record producer and music publisher that has produced 10 albums with his own record company.  Chris and a representative from the U.S. Copyright Office will be talking about new updates to music copyright laws that are important to know for all songwriters who wish to register their works with the U.S Copyright Office.  

 

 

Thursday, April 10

 

Thomas Gillis Jr (Drummer) Tom is a Grammy award winning audio engineer for stage and studio, guitar tech/luthier, musician, audio repairman, and so much more. Tom has been a part of Kids Who Rock since 2020, teaching bass, (although his primary instrument is drums/percussion), Tom started playing drums when he was 14, guitar at 17, and got his first bass at 20 years old. At that time Tom took music lessons during his time at Loyola University New Orleans to learn piano and to further his knowledge of guitar and music theory, as well as audio engineering. Since then, Tom has been acquiring and putting those skills into work helping songwriters make the most of their creations by recording, augmenting, and helping perform their music as they envision it. Every year Tom takes two weeks to record bands performing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival helping spread the word about the good music there. Tom said, “I am, and continue to be, inspired by songwriters and musicians that I have met throughout my life”.

Also, get your new songs critiqued by industry pros Barbe McMillen and Joe Milton and be considered for the 2025 Member Song Contest and Songwriter of the Year.  You can go to the Dallas Songwriters website (see link below) to enter your song, or you can play them live.  When you go to the website look for "Forms" on the upper right-hand corner of the page then point to "Song Critiques" and the form will show up.  You can type in the lyrics or cut & paste.  For the song audio go to "Choose File" and load your audio file(s), limit of 3 songs per meeting.  You can pay online via the critique form, and the cost is $10 per song.

DSA Monthly Meeting - Thursday, March 13th

 Location: Your home via ZOOM

6:30 pm: Open portal and networking 

7:00 pm: Program followed by song critiques for members

Zoom ID # 617 432 0082  

Featuring Wayne Gathright!

This month we will hear from Wayne Gathright, a multi-instrumentalist songwriter and producer from Austin.  He is the winner of the Dallas Songwriter Association 2023 Songwriter of the Year, and the 2019 Austin Songwriter’s Group International Songwriter of the Year, and Nashville Publisher Pick award in 3 different Texas Music Symposiums. Additionally, in 2023, Wayne was the 2nd Place Grand Prize Winner in the Broadjam/DSA International Song Competition, and 1st Place in the Country Category. In 2024, he won 1st place in the Broadjam/DSA International Competition Pop/Rock Category.  He and his brother founded ‘Music Lane Recording’, which recorded hundreds of noted artists, such as Bob Schneider, Soul Hat, Vallejo, Junior Brown, Roky Erikson, Spoon, and Denim. Music Lane was voted ‘Best Recording Studio’ by the Austin Chronicle 3 times, so Wayne knows a lot about recording music as well.  He will talk about "Perception to Production" and focus mainly on how he gets ideas for songs and then lyrics, melodies, and arrangement and also touch on the music production. 

Remember, if you are a DSA member you can get your song critiqued by industry pros Barbe McMillen and Joe Milton and be considered for the 2025 Member Song Contest and Songwriter of the Year.  Please Note: You must go to the Dallas Songwriters website (see link below) to enter your song, or you can play them live.  When you go to the website look for "Forms" on the upper right-hand corner of the page then point to "Song Critiques" and the form will show up.  You can type in the lyrics or cut & paste.  For the song audio go to "Choose File" and load your audio file(s), limit of 3 songs per meeting.  You can pay online via the critique form, and the cost is $10 per song.

DSA Monthly Meeting - Thursday, February 13th

 

DSA Monthly Meeting - Thursday, February 13th

Location: Your home via ZOOM
6:30 pm: Open portal and networking 

7:00 pm: Program followed by song critiques for members

Zoom ID # 617 432 0082  

Featuring Jamey Shannon!

This month's meeting features the return of Jamey Shannon!  He is DSA Board Member, guitarist/singer/songwriter and a former college music educator with lots of interesting topics to talk about.  He will give us a look at Alliteration, Internal Rhyme Schemes, and Line Plus Three in good songwriting so I'm sure we will all learn something new!

Remember, DSA members can get their songs critiqued by industry pros Barbe McMillen and Joe Milton and be considered for the 2025 Member Song Contest and Songwriter of the Year.  Please Note: You must go to the Dallas Songwriters website (see link below) to enter your song, or you can play them live.  When you go to the website look for "Forms" on the upper right-hand corner of the page then point to "Song Critiques" and the form will show up.  You can type in the lyrics or cut & paste.  For the song audio go to "Choose File" and load your audio file(s), limit of 3 songs per meeting.  You can pay online via the critique form, and the cost is $10 per song.

DSA 2ND THURSDAY MEETING - JANUARY 9TH 6:30PM

 

DSA Monthly Meeting - Thursday, January 9th

Location: Your home via ZOOM
6:30 pm: Open portal and networking 

7:00 pm: Program followed by song critiques for members

Zoom ID # 247-652-3092   https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2476523092

Featuring Christine Hand Jones!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  The DSA is gearing up for a great 2025 and we have a speaker for the first member meeting of the year you won't want to miss! Christine Hand Jones is Fort Worth native that has been performing her soulful folk-rock in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for over twenty years. Standing on the Shoulders is her second full-length studio album, in follow-up to her 2018 album The Book of the World and her 2011 EP, "Girl on a String."  Standing on the Shoulders was produced by Milo and Scarlett Deering, and recorded in Charley Pride's old studio in Dallas, TX. The album is a tribute to family, in all its messy beauty, and it intertwines real-life family stories with meditations on loyalty, loss, and love. Standing on the Shoulders wraps its intimate story-telling in a combination of bluegrass instrumentation, lush strings and ethereal vocals.  Since Bob Dylan is back in the spotlight due to the new movie and since Christine studied him for her doctorate, she will talk about some songwriting lessons from Bob with a talk entitled "What Would Dylan Do: Songwriting Lessons from Bob Dylan." 

Also, DSA members can get their songs critiqued by industry pros Barbe McMillen and Joe Milton and be considered for the 2024 Member Song Contest and Songwriter of the Year.  Please Note: You must go to the Dallas Songwriters website (see link below) to enter your song, or you can play them live.  When you go to the website look for "Forms" on the upper right-hand corner of the page then point to "Song Critiques" and the form will show up.  You can type in the lyrics or cut & paste.  For the song audio go to "Choose File" and load your audio file(s), limit of 3 songs per meeting.  You can pay online via the critique form, and the cost is $10 per song.

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DSA CHRISTMAS PARTY  - Dec 13, 2024

Home of our Prez, Michael & Karol Brandenberger (See the post in the member group for the address)

 Come & go from 6:00 to 10:00 pm.   Please bring your favorite side dish or dessert and beverages of your choice.  The DSA will be providing smoked ham, Cokes and water.  We'll also be singing our favorite songs, Christmas or otherwise, and you can bring a guitar if you like but there will be lots on hand to choose from!

 

 

 

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 BEST SONGS OF THE MEETING CONTESTS DEADLINE NOVEMBER 14

 

 MONTHLY MEETING and Workshop -  2nd THURSDAY

http://dsameetings.blogspot.com

DSA Monthly Meeting & Workshop with Song Critiques - Thursday, November 14, 6:30- 9:30

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING AND ELECTIONS + LAST CHANCE SONG CRITIQUES FOR THIS YEAR

Zoom ID 247 652 3092
https://dallassongwriters.org/song-critique/