Workshops

Detroit | Christian | Flint | Kalamazoo/Battle Creek

Detroit Region

Name:
Shelley Asbury
Bio:
Hello- I am Shelley Asbury. I'm looking forward to meeting you in the Detroit area. I found out about NSAI through a local newspaper article. It was just the motivation I needed to get serious about my songwriting. The meetings helped me connect with all types of writers-at all stages of writing. I attended my first NSAI Spring Symposium in 2002 and haven't missed a year since! I attended my first song camp in Feburary 2005. It definitely motivated me to new heights! A few new friends encouraged me to become the NSAI coordinator for Detroit- so here I am! My hope is to work together with Nashville and other nearby NSAI workshops to promote a strong songwriting community! Please join us!
Phone:
586-675-1012
Email:
slybury@aol.com
  The NSAI -Detroit Area Workshop meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month. Time:  7-10 PM Place: Detroit Federation of Musicians local 5  20833 Southfield Rd. Southfield, MI 48075
Bring an original song and copies of the lyrics (10) The Detroit Federation of Musicians building is located in the city of Southfield. I t is on the southbound service drive just north of 8 Mile. Easy access from 696 or Southfield Freeway. More information about the musician's union and the benefits of membership can be found on their web site   www.detroitmusicians.net MORE DETAILED DIRECTIONS AND MAP BELOW

FROM SOUTHFIELD FREEWAY- Go north. Exit at 8 mile. Take the Southfield service drive- continue north of 8 mile - go 1/3 mile and hit the turn around to circle south. The Musician's building will be on the right, just a few blocks north of 8 mile.  If you pass 8 mile, you have gone too far.

FROM 696 - Exit south on Southfield road - it merges into Southfield Frwy before 8 mile exit. Take the 8 mile exit and get immediately over to your right.  The Musician's building is on your right, where the ramp from the Southfield joins the service drive. Just beyond the  building driveway, turn right at the first street which is Westhaven and immediately turn right into the parking lot. If you go past 8 mile- you have gone too far.

20833 Southfield Rd Southfield, MI 48075-4257
   
Name:
Robert "Jim" Allard
Bio:
Though I was born and raised in Detroit, my family is originally from western Kentucky, so I grew up with the songs of bluegrass and country music along with Motown and rock n' roll.

I started writing in high school, but the songs were far from good. After years of playing guitar in metal and punk rock bands in Michigan, my punk band moved to Hollywood, CA to pursue our rock dream.

One of my songs snatched us a deal with Triple X Records, and was released nationally, but the band broke up before we had shot at doing anything major. So, I moved back to Michigan, got married, opened my own recording studio and joined the NSAI.

In 2004, at the NSAI symposium, I won and online Berklee Music College songwriting course Jimmy Kachulis taught. After taking these courses, I see and hear the "tools" Jimmy taught me about writing in every song on the radio. With the help of the NSAI and courses at Berklee, I feel my songwriting has improved immensely. Thank you NSAI!
Phone:
(586) 427-3920
Email:
rallard3907@wowway.com

 

Christian Music Workshop

Name:
Cheryl Wilson
Bio:

Cheryl Wilson has served as a volunteer coordinator for the Detroit Regional Workshop of The Nashville Songwriters Association International in the past and is very excited to be heading up the first NSAI Michigan Christian Music Workshop.  She has always had a heart to nurture and uplift the songwriter,  believing much can be accomplished by working together on a shared vision.  She is looking forward to putting the vision in motion . The NSAI Michigan Christian Music Workshop meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month from 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Cheryl has been active in songwriting and a member of NSAI since the early 90's.  She is a founding member of the Christian Band "All For One" www.All4onemusic.net    and lead female vocalist for the Detroit area band "Paradise".   www.paradiseband.net .  She plays flute and a little guitar and keyboard.  Her debut CD entitled "Closer To You" was released in November, 2004 and has sold more than 500 copies to date.  The CD consists of mostly original songs, 2 of which were deemed ready to pitch by the NSAI Gospel/Christian Song Evaluation Service.  Cheryl is also a member of ASCAP and the Gospel Music Association.     

Married 20 years with 4 wonderful children she spends her spare time in Children's Ministry and training and showing Arabian Horses.  

 

Phone:
(517) 546-8446
Email:

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Flint Region

Name:
Brenda Perry
Bio:
Until 1996 I had only written poetry, then through introduction to some very helpful and talented people; I started learning the craft (hard work) of putting my thoughts into lyric form. I'm mainly a lyricist, but I have been working hard at trying to come up with some unique and different melodies. I'm also learning to play the guitar.

It was an answer to prayer that I found a talented young man to co-write with me. I cried when I heard the first song we had written together on tape. It was a dream come true for me to hear my lyrics put to music.
Phone:
810-695-6314
Email:
bunnetune@comcast.net
Name:
Dave Hendrickson
Bio:
Please contact Dave for more information about the Flint area workshop.
Phone:
(734) 464-2319
Name:
Jeff Stillman
Bio:
I began writing music in 1993. For ten years I wrote only to please myself, writing in different keys, time signatures, and musical pharses (a la Meatloaf), simple pop ditties, humorous novelty songs, and deeply metaphorical songs. There were no rules other than the basics of rhyme and meter, and this allowed me to grow as a songwriter. By the end of the decade, I had written over a hundred songs.

With the birth of my son in 2003, my wife and I decided I should give professional songwriting a try. I would stay home with him and write every day (as often as he would allow). I joined NSAI and began making trips to Nashville, attending workshops and cultivating contacts. I began studying radio hits and refining my craft to work within the guidelines of what makes a marketable song. I still write to please myself, but now I'm also trying to please myself, but now I'm also trying to please a larger audience. Within a year I had signed a single a song contract with a Music Row publisher and placed second in a New York City Songwriting contest- a seemingly quick taste of success, but truthfully hard earned after many years of work.


I currently reside in Waterford, Michigan with my wife and son. My educational background is a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Brown University, and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. For eight years, I worked for DaimlerChrysler as an automotive engineer.
Phone:
(248)673-8638
Email:
jlstillman@sbcglobal.net

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Kalamazoo/Battle Creek

 
Name:
James Oliver
Bio:
My name is James Oliver. I have been a volunteer regional workshop coordinator of The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) for many years. We meet on the second MONDAY of each month from 6:00-9:00 p.m. I have been writing songs since 1981 and have been a member of NSAI for much of that time. My instrument of choice is the guitar. I am the former lead vocalist for a local eight-piece band called "The Edge." The band continues to play a blend of rock, roll, rhythm & blues. I have promoted and participated in workshops and a concert series sponsored by the Second Harvest Foodbank of South-Central Michigan featuring numerous times Beth Nielsen Chapman (with Annie Roboff) and Kathy Mattea. One of my songwriting partners and I have a single song publishing deal with Justin Wilde's Holiday Music called "Christmas Stockin' Blues" and two other partners and I have a single song deal with Camilla K's Banner Music on a tune called "Save A Little for the Lord." I am a member of ASCAP. I also am a member of SongU. My day job is that of a special education teacher in a public middle school. Over the years I have written numerous grants which were used to co-write and professionally record fifty songs with my students. I am married, the father of five children and I have a step-daughter and four grand-children.
Phone:
(269) 789-2874
Email:
zorozero2001@yahoo.com
Name:
Jane Oliver
Bio:
Please contact Jane for information about the Battle Creek workshop.
Phone:
(269) 781-4430
Email:
barberparlour@sbcglobal.net
Name:
Rene Meave
Bio:
Please contact Rene for more information about the Kalamazoo workshop.
Phone:
269-341-9638
Email:
rmeave@ameritech.net
Name:
Susan Harrison
Bio:
The Kalamazoo-based singer/songwriter creates music that conveys a childlike sense of wonder, and puts common, everyday experiences in a fresh light. Harrison's singing style is ethereal, yet bluesy. Her guitar playing is warm and whimsical. Each original song she performs celebrates life's simple pleasures--like having morning coffee with a friend, or finding treasures in the attic.

An artist for over 20 years, Harrison is also the mother of two rambunctious and creative boys. The wisdom she's gained through her varied life experiences can be heard and felt in songs like "A.M. Social Hour," "Nostalgia Tripping," and "Wanna Play Today." Her humanist approach to life, and her music, conveys a sense of community--a feeling that we are all connected.

Susan Harrison's songs radiate warmth and honesty through beautiful melodies. Her sense of humor is reassuring in a world that often tries our patience and drains our energies.

She writes songs about real life, as seen through the eyes of a centered and peaceful human being. Her playful style and gentle manner remind us to slow down, smell the coffee, remember, be silly with our children, and reach out to one another.
Phone:
269-382-4911
Web:
http://www.palamazoo.com
Email:
palamazoo@yahoo.com

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