Saturday, October 14, 2017

2017 SONG CONTEST JUDGES

Grand Prize Judge : Roy Elkins, CEO of Broadjam, Inc.
ROY ELKINS is a well-known music technology entrepreneur who has been leading industry innovations for over twenty years. Elkins is the Founder and CEO of Broadjam Inc., serving independent musicians and industry giants such as Warner/Chappell, The Academy of Country Music, AMD, Yamaha, Peavey, Roland, ProSoundWeb and others. Broadjam.com, the company's popular web site, now hosts one of the largest collections of searchable independent music on the planet. The site is known for its user-friendly services for musicians, including artist web pages, song reviews, song contests, Top 10 Charts and the revolutionary METAJAM software.

Before founding Broadjam,  Elkins was the Vice President-Sales & Marketing for Sonic Foundry, and held several director-level positions with Ensoniq Corporation. He maintains a database of over 5,000 music industry contacts include executives at virtually every company in the music industry and past and/or present artists such as Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, D.J. Jazzy Jeff, the Beach Boys, the Allman Brothers Band, BoyzIIMen, Roy Firestone, Joe Walsh (The Eagles), Paul Broucek (Lord of the Rings), ELP, Yes, Journey, Skid Row, Bill Walton, Jackie Martling (Howard Stern), David Arkenstone, Randy Jackson and many others. He is an accomplished musician and songwriter who thoroughly understands the musician's world. www.broadjam.com

Category Judges

Americana: Kendra Terry  has been a volunteer at Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse since 1992 and is currently the Booking Manager. Kendra has been actively involved with the award winning Songwriter Stage at Richardson, TX, Wildflower! Art & Music Festival for about 20 years. She has been the Volunteer Manager for the Songwriter Stage for the past 5 years. Kendra was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the Kerrville Folk Festival Foundation. A native Texan, Kendra grew up in South Louisiana singing with her three sisters. She has lived in the Dallas area since 1979.

Singer Songwriter: DAVID CARD, Owner, Poor David’s Pub
Most of Texas’ greatest songwriters have one thing in common: they’ve headlined at Dallas’ legendary music venue, Poor David’s Pub. For the past 31 years, Poor David’s Pub owner David Card has been host to outstanding artists such as Sara Hickman, the Dixie Chicks, Patrice Pike, Max Stalling, Guy Clark, Jimmy Webb and more. Card is also the founder of the annual BW Stevenson Memorial Singer-Songwriter Competition, held at Poor David’s every April and now in its 20th year. Card, Poor David’s Pub and the annual contest have helped the careers of past singer-songwriter winners including Adam Carroll, Max Stalling, Kristi Kruger, Gordy Quist, Elizabeth Wills, Colin Boyd, Owen Temple and many others. http://www.poordavidspub.com


Children's/Novelty :JERIALICE ARSENAULT, owner of Riversounds Recording Studio provides the creative atmosphere, equipment, sound studio, and accommodations for aspiring artists. Musicians of all genre have recorded there. Owner Jerialice is no stranger to musical machinations herself as she is a solo recording artist and front woman for the band Enchanted Rock. She has also performed with Joe King Carasco. She currently manages the Riversounds studios, campgrounds and Merlin’s Cabin. In addition, she founded the non-profit organization Chemo Sabe, a group dedicated to providing uplifting music to cancer patients in addition to organizing, supporting, and providing recording services for cancer benefits and events. The group also provides newly diagnosed patients with support and resources for navigating life with cancer. Jerialice.com http://www.enchantedrock.com/recording.html
Christian/Inspirational: BOBBY SMITH AND DORINDA DUNCAN - Author and Gospel Producer E Robert Smith who traveled the road many years with Christian artist, Dion, has switched his created talents to fiction writing. His new novel, Downline, is a gripping tale of the world of multilevel marketing. DORINDA is a songwriter who a performed across the US, most notably at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. Former recording artist with Capitol Records, she is currently cutting a Christian album with Bobby producing.
Bobby's book on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Downline-E-Robert-Smith/dp/0988820900

Country: Alan Rhody’s hit song, "I’ll Be True To You", performed by the Oakridge Boys became a standard by the late eighties ringing up more than four million in sales and eventually over one million airplays. He has spent three decades writing and singing with the passion of someone who is not only highly gifted, but who is driven to create. His poignant ballads and gutsy rockers have also garnered over a hundred recordings by a long list of major artists in country, folk, and bluegrass. Rhody’s newest new album, "Rhody In Black & White" (Ashwood Recordings), is a 21 song retrospective ranging from his beginnings in the Canadian folk scene of the early seventies through brand new material and his own arrangements of his hits by others including Del McCoury, Lorrie Morgan, Murray McLauchlan, Kevin Welch, Hoyt Axton, The Oak Ridge Boys, and Tanya Tucker.. www.alanrhody.com

Instrumental: Terry Hankins is a premier jazz guitarist that regularly does solo and jazz trio performances at various Dallas/Ft. Worth restaurant and club venues.  He has played professionally for over 30 years and has appeared with some of the top jazz artists in the country including guitarist Larry Carleton.

Love Songs/Easy Listening: Owner of the jazz venue, Kitchen Cafe, TONY HAKIM has been a positive music force in the Dallas - Fort Worth jazz scene for over 25 years, playing both solo performance and collaboratively. His mellow guitar styles and winsome vocals have won him much acclaim and a devoted following worldwide. His first CD, "Postcards From You", is packed with a delightful assortment of original tunes, while his latest CD's, "Summer Place" and "Two For The Road", show off his definitive style as he interprets the works of the legends of the music world. http://www.tonyhakim.net/

Pop/Rock - Music Director KATHY FORSTE graduated from Central Missouri State University with a degree in Broadcasting and Film and a minor in music. KC Café Radio is a realization of her two passions, broadcasting and music.  Kathy has worked in television and radio for the past 30 years in various capacities.  This includes production, master control, programming and development for  ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS.  Kathy’s passion for music began as a child. At the age of 13 she wrote her first “real song” and has been writing songs and playing guitar ever since. She started performing live about 24 years ago as a solo artist in Oklahoma. She has played everywhere from Seattle, Washington to the Bluebird Café in Nashville. Kathy has written, recorded and produced three CD’s, “Mojo Hum”, “Too Late For Regrets” and “Home Fires”.  In her role with KC Café Radio Kathy has had the pleasure of interviewing over 60 singer/songwriters for the KC Café Radio website. She is also the sole ear for choosing the music of almost 500 songwriters and 5,000 songs for the playlist on KC Café Radio.  In her role as music director she coordinates and books the music for KC Café Radio Concert series which has included such well known acts as the Stray Birds, Jonathan Byrd, Beth Wood, Jeff Campbell and Stephanie Urbina Jones.  Kathy is a member of Folk Alliance International and Kansas City Songwriters Group.  www.kccaferadio.com

DSA Song Contest Judges

Annual Song Contest held by the Dallas Songwriters Association to provide a benchmark for popular songwriting competency. Winners in each category, plus grand prize winners.