We are excited with all the wonderful things going on around the Guild. From the studio and offices being built at our new home at Dunwoody Community Church to our new found relationship with the Grammys. This is a Ministry that will be touching literally thousands if not millions of lives, and as with any Ministry it takes people and money to start and to sustain it. If you would like to know more on how to “BE A FRIEND” of the International Christian Songwriters Guild and be a part of this unique Ministry opportunity contact J. Grady. Come join us!

Before

Out with the old

In with the new

From the desk of
Michele Rhea Caplinger

As Senior Executive Director of The Recording Academy, a member based organization comprised of music professionals and music makers, I couldn’t be happier to learn about the International Christian Songwriters Guild.

While most are familiar with The Recording Academy because of its history celebrating music through the GRAMMY® Awards for over 50 years, The Recording Academy continues its rich legacy and ongoing growth as the premier outlet for honoring achievements in the recording arts and supporting the music community.

The GRAMMYs are the only peer-presented award to honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency, and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position.

But similar to the International Christian Songwriters Guild’s mission, The Recording Academy works within the music and recording communities addressing its needs through education, advocacy, professional development, and events. In addition, the Chapter serves as a conduit for other members to meet, network and tackle the concerns of the recording industry both nationally and locally.

We look forward to working closely with ICSG’s members and co-producing Professional Education and Networking Events with this esteemed group. Ultimately, as our membership reflects more inclusivity within this thriving music community, we can continue to grow the GRAMMY Awards categories in this genre. This is a very exciting time and the opportunities are endless.

We support the International Christian Songwriters Guild and extend an invitation to all of you to join our music family. The Recording Academy is the preeminent music organization for all music makers representing every style of music. Consider our organization – YOUR organization. One Community – One Voice.

Sincerely,

Michele Rhea Caplinger

National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences®
3290 Northside Parkway Suite # 280, Atlanta, Georgia 30327
404.816.1380 http://www.grammy.com

We would like to thank the leaders at Dunwoody Community Church for believing in and inviting us to have our new ICSG home at their beautiful facility in Dunwoody, GA. Our meeting with the Elders and Music Minister Doug Allen last night was a tremendous blessing.  We have never experienced such unanimity among a group of people. God is truly great!

Hey folks. We are moving the ICSG Facebook fan site to http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/ICSG/110972142202?ref=search We were listed in the wrong category so we have to create a new page. The International Christian Songwriters Guild (ICS Guild) will be up for a few more weeks. Make sure you sign up to be a fan at the new site. Thanks so much. Let us know if you have any thoughts or idea about the guild. We would love to hear from you.

We would like to welcome the NARAS (Grammys) to the ICSG Family. Grady and the gang from ICSG met with Michele Caplinger (Senior Executive Director) and Erin Baxter (Senior Project Manager).  They are two consummate  professionals who were truly a blessing to meet. What a match made in Heaven!  We are really looking forward to partnering with them on future projects.

Check out this sneak preview of one of the many exciting newsletter offerings of ICSG.

Sound Counsel
A counselor is a person whose advice can be trusted because he/she has been through a particular situation himself. No one wants parenting advice from someone who does not have kids, right? Well, the same holds true for advice about sound equipment. Sound Counsel is a column about sound equipment, use tips and techniques by a classically trained audio technician who does gigs himself. Mark Nichols is a self-described audio geek, with a degree in audio engineering, and a little under thirty years experience behind an audio console. Mark has worked with local bands, starting solo acts, regional touring groups, Dove and Grammy winners, several pros and a few cons. He has done tours, one offs and house gigs.

Sound Counsel is not going to be an equipment review page. There are plenty of equipment review articles in CCM, Worship Leader and other magazines. Nor will we go into great detail about the latest and greatest over-the-top audio venues. Church Production and Technologies for Worship Magazine more than fill the need to lust after someone else’s audio toys. Sound Counsel is all about where a normal singer/songwriter, solo act up through small band, with a normal budget and a normal amount of audio intelligence can go to get practical audio advice to make a normal gig a better audio experience for everyone. Each column will cover one audio topic, vocal mic technique for instance, and take a practical, not too geeky, not a sales pitch, approach to the subject. The writing style of these articles will often slip into informal, always approachable, and hopefully, more useful than academic. In the coming months, perhaps years, we shall cover microphones, what EQ is, does and how to do it, wireless microphones, what is gain structure and why it matters, microphones, amps, microphones, speakers, and more microphones. It does little good to own a fancy vocal mic if no one tells you how to use it. Oh, sure, you know how to plug it in, but really getting the most out of a mic—that is going to be our first real article. So please give Sound Counsel a read. I think you’ll like it.

Mark

PS Got an audio question? Drop me a line at mark@soundcounselworkshops.com

The International Christian Songwriters Guild proudly supports Airria Records recording artist Misty Williamson.  Check out this track “The Game” from her first CD coming out later his year.

The Game, Copyright 2009 Airria Records

The Celebrate Recovery Night of Worship was a huge success.  AIRRIA RECORDS and ICSG supported artist, Misty Williamson, brought the crowd to their feet for her entire performance.  Erica Ambrose, with her songs and sweet lullaby, brought them to tears,Daniela  had people jumping and Doug Allen catapulted them into a new dimension of worship.  The ICSG and AIRRIA RECORDS would like to think them all for their talents and love for God. Also, special thanks to Josh Blevins for leading us in worship and AshleyFeagin and the girls for their beautiful harmonies during their performance.  We’ve only begun!

Worship

Doug, Misty, Ashley, Erica & Josh

Hello! This is J. Grady, founder of ICS Guild and want to thank you for visiting our site. We would really like to hear from you so we can know how to best serve you. The week of June the 15th, we will begin posting the exciting news and events happening at the Guild. We truly look forward to hearing from you.