Greetings,

This month Tom Leu of the Musician’s Corner writes that many of us take the music we hear on the radio for granted. We quickly assess whether we like a piece of music or not, giving little regard to amount of work “behind the scenes” that went into getting “the song” on the radio in the first place. Rarely do songs just end up getting radio or television airplay by accident. A tremendous amount of work writing, recording, and marketing the music takes place long before we hear it blasting through our speakers. His experience as a musician, manager, and radio producer point to three things that get immediate attention when listening to or screening new music by an artist or group. Read his entire article at: http://www.onlinerock.com/musicianscorner/musicscreening.shtml

FORUM QUESTION – We’re revisiting a question that was asked last year. Songwriting is an art. Some of us are great at it and other struggle just to get one song written. On the other hand, some of us can play their instruments amazingly well while others get stuck on the basics. This week we ask; how do you write songs? Do you collaborate with a partner? Do the words come first or is the music? Are you prolific or does it take some time to finish each song? Also, when do you consider a song finished? As always, we’d love to hear your comments: http://www.onlinerock.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=2&t=000068

LINE 6 GIVEAWAY – Last month's winner was Michael from Clarks Summit, PA. There are still more chances to win other exciting Line 6 products. This month we’ll be giving away another ToneCore Crunchtone Pedal. If you like warm, full-bodied overdrive, Crunchtone features three juicy models: Blues, Pop and Crunch. Based on Line 6’s arsenal of power tube overdrive models, Crunchtone also give you a simple yet versatile tone control for easy tweaking, and a built-in Noise Gate.

Building on Line 6’s award-winning effects from PODxt, DL4, and Vetta, ToneCore pedals provide exclusive Line 6 tones, advanced sound, and astonishing control. There are six different types of these ultra-tough, built-like-a-tank pedals including Echo Park, Über Metal, Crunchtone, Constrictor, Space Chorus and Tap Tremolo. Register to win at: http://www.onlinerock.com/line6form

FEATURED ARTIST PROFILE – This month we feature Sprawl from Toronto, Canada, revolving around Ralph Kircher and Jonathan Agensky, or better know by their nom de plume Los Vaqueros Analogicos (Analogue Cowboys). Their records have charted on campus stations across Canada and their music has been featured in movies such as Ginger Snaps (1&2) and television series including Our Hero, Queer as Folk and Fashion television. Check out their profile at: http://www.onlinerock.com/profiles/sprawl_profile.shtml

We've partnered with Sonicbids to accept profile applications. Sonicbids let you create an electronic press kit (EPK) in as little as 20 minutes and email it to anyone, anywhere. Sonicbids offers exclusive one-click submissions to hundreds of events and daily email alerts about festivals, competitions and other music events that you should know about. Submit your music by going to: http://www.sonicbids.com/onlinerock

CD REVIEWS – This month’s featured CD Review comes from Sciflyer who are out on tour in August. OnlineRock will review your CD and post it on our Web site. These reviews can be used for your promo kit, Web site or in a press release. To submit your CD or check out the latest reviews, just go to: http://www.onlinerock.com/CDreview

FEATURED CD – Craig and Steve are back! The Craig Smith Band has just released CD number five entitled “Galaxy Ride”. Craig plays all of the instruments and sings all of the vocals on the CD. His longtime schoolmate Steve Capps plays the fender P-bass. These guys always seem to find the groove when it comes to laying down songs. Take a listen at: http://www.onlinerock.com/thecraigsmithband

ENTER THE 2005 INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION (ISC)
Over $100,000 in cash and prizes! ISC is an excellent opportunity for artists and bands that are looking to gain exposure in the music industry. ISC judges include high-profile industry professionals and celebrities such as: Monte Lipman (President, Universal Recs); Darryl McDaniels (Run D.M.C.); Steve Vai; Joss Stone; LeAnn Rimes; Macy Gray; Tara Griggs-Magee (Exec. VP Gospel/Urban Music, Sony Recs); Michael McDonald (President, ATO Recs); Chris Parr (VP of Music Programming & Talent Relations, CMT); Barbara Sedun (VP Creative, EMI Music Pub Canada); and many more to be announced soon. Visit their website to enter your songs now! Deadline for submission is October 14, 2005 http://www.songwritingcompetition.com

If you have any comments for OnlineRock, just drop our Webmaster a line at webmaster@onlinerock.com. We’re always open to your ideas and suggestions.

Rock On,
Steve Beck
Founder