LA TAXI Convention with Jared!

My body says it's 5am, but here in California, it's 3. I've learned long ago not to fight it, just get up. After all, I could be productive and blog to my 12 followers, whom I love dearly. God has awakened me on many such occasions in the past and getting up has always been a blessing.

Anyway, I am at this thing called the TAXI Road Rally, which is a large convention for singers, songwriters and all that, to connect with major A&R folks, showcase your songs, meeting other singer song writers, and a multitude of characters. I am blessed to have Jared with me. Check him out at http://jaredkraft.com. We have already had many laughs together!

The registration line was huge! Check it out!

We stood in line which trailed out from deep inside the hotel, clear out into the parking lot. It was hard on the feet, but we met some very interesting people!

Meet Beverly. She is a 60 year old country western lyricist (did I spell that right?). She was a hoot to say the least. She has written songs in honor of her dad, a real cowboy from days gone by. I think by the end of the 2 hour wait, everyone within 20 people of the line, knew Beverly. By day, she is a college professor, but on weekends, a song writer.

The guy in the blue teeshirt is Barry. I noticed him when Jared and I first arrived. When I was researching TAXI, I saw Barry's interview. He was fun to meet and has just as much enthusiasm in real life as he does on his interview! Next to Barry in the black shirt, is Simon, a song writer from NY. Jared and I spent a lot of time asking these guys questions and getting tips on how to get the music heard and used. Networking Networking Networking!!

This is Nicolas, a singer / songwriter from Sweden. I thought Jared and I had to travel far! Nicolas was a lot of fun to talk to and not too hard to understand (when talking about guitar gear - hehe).

Jared and I left for a bit and toured the city. There is a lot to get into in LA! We walked about a mile, made some new friends and picked up a few groceries (not much), but thought this was a good pic. "This random moment is brought to you by Rice A Roni - a SanFrancisco Treat".

Later on, was the open mic events. There were two rooms that were filled with hopeful musicians, showcasing their songs, all for the glory of it! The audience, being songwriters and musicians themselves, were eager to give encouragement. It was inspiring.

This dude wrote a song about Luckenbach, TX and even though it's already been done, "he doesn't care, he's gonna do it anyway" really funny guy... cool song.

If you are interested in more information on TAXI, visit them at http://www.taximusic.com/.

It was a long day but fun. I NEED COFFEE! It's still too early even for Starbucks here. I'm also already missing Lynnette, Ab, Cecily, Silas, Jonas and Harry. I've caught Jared a time (or ten) praising God for Olivia and a shot to make music his life's work. I'm excited to see what the Lord will bring on this day that he hath made. It's gonna be good! God Bless!