September 03, 2008
What the Expo is all about...Don't Miss It!
Hi Everybody, Jim Attebery here. The Colorado Springs CO, October 2-4 Durango Songwriters Expo at Cheyenne Mountain Resort is just about a month away! Registered? Got your airline ticket? Reserve your room?
Just a reminder. And I also want to take this opportunity to remind you how important the Expo can be to your career. My brother Bill, who most of you know as our cantankerous (and funny) MC, reminded me recently with this great story about Alissa Moreno. And he is absolutely right. Great things do indeed get started here!
I can't place the exact year but suffice to say seven or eight years ago. The Saturday concert that year featured Rodney Crowell, Steve Forbert, JD Souther and Jim Lauderdale...as most of you know we have showcases on Thursday and Friday. I was getting ready to go on when I observed this young girl kind of hanging by herself in the corner, you know, that uncomfortable "I'm here but I don't know a soul" look. I went over and introduced myself...She said "Hi, I'm Alissa Moreno from Santa Fe." I had just been in Santa Fe and noticed posters for her and people said she is the real deal...
On her showcase, Alissa blew the house away with her presence and her ability to connect to the audience in a sincere and honest presentation of her songs. And, by the way, her songs were great.
By Friday, everything had changed for Alissa. Industry people were all over her. End result, Alissa decided to ditch Santa Fe and move to LA. As with most artists she found out the hype did not turn into immediate success or a record deal. In fact, we lost track of Alissa for a couple of years until she re-surfaced at our Santa Barbara Expo three years ago...
Today Alissa's career looks completely different: TV show theme songs, a huge single ("Every Day") on one of the biggest acts in recent years, Rascal Flatts. Oh, and did I mention that she wrote it with the hottest songwriter anywhere, Jeffrey Steele...who she met and who offered her a co-write opportunity at the Expo?
Alissa also entered our annual songwriting contest [coming again soon!] and won two years ago and got to co-write with Tony Scalzo [from Fastball] who has written monster hits including "The Way."
I have to tell you, this is what the Durango Songwriters Expo is all about. —Bill Attebery (MC and co-producer)
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If you cannot print out the brochure, contact us with your name and mailing address and we will send you the brochure via USPS. If you need immediate assistance in registering, please call Jim Attebery at 970.259.9747. Thank you!
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