I.\tRMA-SF see the light about the RMA International (RMALA)
\nII.\tWORKSHOPS\/SCHOLARSHIPS
\nIII.\tBUDDY CHILDERS PASSES AWAY<\/p>\n
Greetings Local 47 Colleagues,<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve just been forwarded these two letters from the RMASF. Every
\nLocal 47 member should read these. We have had known for
\nquite some time that the RMALA\u2019s business practices have hurt
\nthe country as well as destroyed much of the recording work here,
\nbut now we have proof that their practices have affected jobs far
\noutside our geographic area. And Hal has let them exist
\nunrestrained in their actions to the detriment of us all.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a short quote from the letters below:
\n\u201cRMALA appears to be dedicated to keeping this work away
\nfrom RMA musicians in other chapters, and, in fact, other
\nmusicians within their own Local.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
That says it all, doesn\u2019t it? And this is from a former RMA chapter
\n in San Francisco, not the Committee! The distain for the RMA
\nnationwide is looking more and more well deserved.<\/p>\n
There are also some very interesting seminars, workshops and
\nscholarship opportunities available.<\/p>\n
THE COMMITTEE<\/p>\n
I. RMASF see the light about the RMA International (RMALA)<\/p>\n
May 29, 2007<\/p>\n
Things fall apart<\/p>\n
May 25, 2007
\nPhil Ayling, President RMA International
\n817 North Vine St., Ste4 209
\nHollywood, CA 90038<\/p>\n
Dear Phil:
\nThis letter shall serve as official notification to RMA International
\nthat on May 21, 2007 the membership of RMASF voted to relinquish
\nits charter and dissolve the chapter. We regret the necessity of
\nthis decision but the membership and board of directors believe
\nthat this official affiliation between the recording musicians of the
\nSari Francisco Bay Area and RMA International has not only failed
\nto promote their careers and professional needs, but in fact has
\nworked to their detriment.<\/p>\n
We look forward to a better working relationship in the future
\ntowards our mutual goals of improving the work and security of
\nall AFM recording musicians.<\/p>\n
Fraternally,
\nThe Board of RMASF<\/p>\n
##############<\/p>\n
May 25, 2007<\/p>\n
Dear Members of the International Executive Board of the American
\nFederation of Musicians:<\/p>\n
We are writing to inform you that on May 2 l, the membership of
\nthe San Francisco Chapter of Recording Musicians Association
\nunanimously voted to dissolve RMASF. The RMASF Board of Directors
\nwould like the IEB to understand why this unfortunate decision
\nwas necessary.<\/p>\n
As you are well aware, the commercial recording industry is in a
\ntremendous state of flux. The increase in outsourcing of recording
\nwork to non-Union venues, both domestic and international, has
\ncreated a situation where the former paradigms of compensation
\nfor such work are no longer inevitable. Our goal has been to
\nrecapture that work for local players, with a Union contract that
\nworks for both producers and musicians.<\/p>\n
The mission of RMASF has always been:
\n\u2022 to unite and organize professional recording musicians in the
\nSan Francisco Bay Area
\n\u2022 to promote and develop recording opportunities in the San
\nFrancisco Bay Area
\n\u2022 to communicate, exchange information and address issues of
\nmutual concern with other RMA chapters<\/p>\n
We have increasingly found this mission impossible to fulfill
\nunder the existing conditions within the RMA Players Conference.
\nEspecially with regard to motion picture, television and videogame
\nrecording work, RMA International seems to exclusively serve the
\ninterests of a small group of musicians in its Los Angeles Chapter. <\/p>\n
In turn, RMALA appears to be dedicated to keeping this work away
\nfrom RMA musicians in other chapters, and, in fact, other musicians
\nwithin their own Local. One particularly offensive example of RMA
\nInternational’s attitude toward RMASF was its attempt to raise the
\nqualification levels for contract ratification, which would have
\nrendered almost all of our members ineligible to vote. We were
\npleased that the IEB saw fit to maintain these levels, and hope it
\nwill continue to do so in the best interests of all recording musicians.<\/p>\n
RMA International has been consistently unresponsive to our concerns
\nabout the state of the recording industry, and it has deliberately
\nand actively blocked our initiatives. Each time we have formulated
\na proposal, whether for video games or motion pictures, we found
\nthe support we needed from AFM Local 6, and accordingly submitted
\nour proposals through our Local.<\/p>\n
Our experiences with RMA International have been exceedingly
\nfrustrating and unproductive. In pursuing our primary goat of
\nincreasing the quantity of high-quality recording work nationally
\nand in the San Francisco Bay Area, two significant proposals were
\noffered by RMASF: A theatrical motion picture proposal was made
\nin 2005 that effectively addressed the outsourcing issues plaguing
\nthe motion picture industry, and most recently, a video game
\npromulgated agreement proposal was put forward that would
\nrecapture recording in an industry that has seen only 2.5% of its
\ngames recorded on AIM contracts over the past five years. Both
\nRMASF proposals were dismissed by RMA within hours of their
\nsubmission, and as a result had to be presented by AFM Local 6.<\/p>\n
The Board and membership of RMASF feel that it is impossible to
\ncontinue to pursue our objectives through the RMA Players Conference,
\nand that by maintaining an RMA chapter in San Francisco our members
\nare unwittingly undermining their own recording opportunities. <\/p>\n
The best service we can do our members, our colleagues and the
\nUnion is to withdraw from RMA, state these issues publicly for
\nthe record, and urge the IEB to:<\/p>\n
1) Restore integrity to the AFM’s MPTV recording contract negotiations
\nand the process by which promulgated agreements are created.
\nWe hope you will investigate, confront and sanction those individuals
\nwho have recently misused their positions for their own personal gain
\nand at the expense of their fellow Union members.<\/p>\n
2) Pursue recording opportunities that are currently being outsourced
\nto non-Union environments. We fully support your negotiating
\ncontracts based on the mutual interests of all recording musicians.
\nThese contracts and the interests that guide their negotiations
\nshould be responsive to the hard facts of globalization operating
\nwithin the commercial recording industry.<\/p>\n
Our motion picture and videogame recording industry is in crisis.
\nOn behalf of the Union recording musicians in the San Francisco
\nBay Area we urge you to consider our withdrawal from RMA as a
\nsymptom of the inequities and abuses within our industry that
\nrequire your ongoing scrutiny and stewardship.<\/p>\n
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have further questions.<\/p>\n
Fraternally and in solidarity,<\/p>\n
Board of Directors, RMASF<\/p>\n
————<\/p>\n
II. WORKSHOPS\/SCHOLARSHIPS<\/p>\n
ASMAC PRESENTS: <\/p>\n
Master Class with PAUL RISER
\nDate: Saturday, June 2, 2007
\nTime: 11 AM – 3 PM <\/p>\n
Venue: Valley College, Music Building, Small Music Room
\n5800 Fulton Ave, Valley Glen, CA 91401 <\/p>\n
On Saturday, June 2, 2007, the American Society of Music Arrangers
\nand Compsers will host another of our landmark Master Class
\nseries at LA Valley College with lessons and anecdotes from the
\nlegendary, Grammy Award-winner, Paul Riser, the most prolific
\narranger from Motown\u2019s golden years. <\/p>\n
From the movie, \u201cStanding In The Shadows of Motown\u201d: \u201cBy the
\nend of their phenomenal run, this unheralded group of musicians
\nhad played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the
\nRolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined – which makes
\nthem the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music.
\nThey called themselves the Funk Brothers.\u201d The arranger for this
\nphenomenal, unheralded group and the marvelous strings and
\nhorns that accompanied them was Paul Riser, probably the most
\nprolific arranger of hit songs of all time. <\/p>\n
As we all know, the \u201chit single\u201d is one of the most elusive targets
\nin music and most people never have even one. Amazingly, Paul
\nRiser has consistently generated hit after hit for decades, with far
\ntoo many to count. For the baby-boom generation, Motown provided
\nthe soundtrack of their lives and one of the chief architects was
\nPaul Riser. The Motown Sound has influenced music worldwide as
\nmuch or more than Big Band or any other major genre of music
\nin the 20th century. Ask any Beatle or Rolling Stone you happen
\nto meet. Studies show that the Motown logo is as well-known
\naround the world as that of Coca-Cola and Paul Riser was one of
\nthe originators and chief designers of the Motown Sound. <\/p>\n
Among Riser’s biggest hits as an arranger are, “My Girl” (The
\nTemptations), “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” (The Temptations), for
\nwhich he won a Grammy Award, both versions of “I Heard It
\nThrough The Grapevine” (Marvin Gaye)(Gladys Knight & The Pips),
\n\u201cMy Cherie Amour,\u201d (Stevie Wonder), both versions of \u201cAin\u2019t No
\nMountain High Enough\u201d (Diana Ross) (Marvin Gaye & Tammy
\nTerrell), “If I Were Your Woman” (Gladys Knight & The Pips) and
\n“Tears of A Clown” (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles). He is also
\ncomposer of \u201cWhat Becomes of The Brokenhearted\u201d (Jimmy Ruffin).
\nAway from Motown, his hits include, \u201cNever Too Much\u201d (Luther
\nVandross), \u201cTwo Hearts\u201d (Phil Collins) and \u201cI Believe I Can Fly\u201d (R.
\nKelly). His arrangements have graced recordings for The
\nCarpenters, Carly Simon, Quincy Jones, The Doobie Brothers,
\nTom Jones, Natalie Cole, Pharoah Sanders, Kiki Dee, Johnny
\nMathis, Patti LaBelle, Stephanie Mills, Anita Baker, Roberta Flack,
\nMichael McDonald, Aretha Franklin and a host of others. <\/p>\n
Paul Riser\u2019s work in film and television include, \u201cMad About You,\u201d
\n\u201cCar Wash,\u201d \u201cBamboozled,\u201d \u201cSpace Jam,\u201d \u201cStanding In The Shadows
\nOf Motown,\u201d\u201d Four Brothers,\u201d \u201cWhich Way Is Up\u201d and \u201cMother,
\nJugs and Speed.\u201d <\/p>\n
Saturday, June 2, 2007, at Valley College
\nMusic Building, Small Music Room
\n5800 Fulton Ave,
\nValley Glen, CA 91401 <\/p>\n
Cost: ASMAC Members & Students $25. \u2022 Non-members\/Guests $30. <\/p>\n
Parking: Free \u2022 The parking lot is located on the east side of Fulton
\nAvenue, about 50 yards south of Oxnard and the music building
\nis directly south of the parking lot. <\/p>\n
Please make reservations by Friday morning, June 1, 2007 @
\n818\/ 994-4661 or by email to asmac@theproperimageevents.com to insure that your music DVD will be available. <\/p>\n
Check out our website — www.asmac.org <\/p>\n
Contact:
\nSYD LEVY
\nAmerican Society of Music Arrangers & Composers
\nADMINISTRATION OFFICE
\n818-994-4661 \u2022 FAX 818-994-6181<\/p>\n
————–<\/p>\n
FULL SCHOLARSHIPS FOR SINGERS TO HOLLYWOOD POP ACADEMY!
\nOPEN AUDITIONS IN HOLLYWOOD FOR SINGERS AGES 7-25<\/p>\n
Stevie Wonder To Give Winners $150,000 in Scholarships To
\nHollywood Pop Academy<\/p>\n
American Idol Finalist to Perform<\/p>\n
Scholarship Winners will receive:
\n* Enrollment in Hollywood Pop Academy Unlimited
\n* 3 outdoor live concerts in Hollywood
\n* Non-Exclusive Management Representation
\n* One Original Demo
\n* One-on-One training with Director of Education, Steven Memel
\n* Record Label Executive Showcase Performance at the Kodak Theatre<\/p>\n
CALL 1-877-SING-POP TO ENTER: – You must be between the ages of 7-25 Auditions will be held at: Schedule on Sunday, June 10th Each contestant will receive a certificate for one free class at For more information, please visit: Hollywood Pop Academy (HPA), is Hollywood’s #1 professional HPA’s professional celebrity instructors list a “Who’s Who” HPA classes include: vocal technique, stage performance, dance, III. BUDDY CHILDERS PASSES AWAY<\/p>\n The Jazz world recently lost a true legend. <\/p>\n Buddy Childers passed away on May 25th, 2007, at the age of 81.<\/p>\n We send our thoughts and prayers to his Family.<\/p>\n Marion “Buddy” Childers was born February 12 1926, became ——————-<\/p>\n Colleagues,<\/p>\n You might find it amazing to read some of the letters Mr. Espinosa UNTIL NEXT TIME,<\/p>\n THE COMMITTEE FOR A MORE RESPONSIBLE LOCAL 47<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I. RMA-SF see the light about the RMA International (RMALA) II. WORKSHOPS\/SCHOLARSHIPS III. BUDDY CHILDERS PASSES AWAY Greetings Local 47 Colleagues, We\u2019ve just been forwarded these two letters from the RMASF. Every Local 47 member should read these. We have had known for quite some time that the RMALA\u2019s business practices have hurt the country […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-committee-newsletters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.responsible47.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nOR Email:
\nlauras@hollywoodpopacademy.com
\nYOU MUST register in person between 8 AM – 9 AM on Sunday,
\nJune 10th to audition. I recommend getting there EARLY, as this
\nwill be first come first served, and we are limiting the auditions to
\nthe first 300 people.<\/p>\n
\n– Registration Fee: $15 for INFOLIST (normally $20)
\n– Prepare a one minute song, to be performed a cappella
\n(i.e., without accompaniment)
\n– Register for confirmation number: 8:00 AM – Sunday,
\nJune 10, 2007<\/p>\n
\nThe Hollywood Pop Academy
\n6801 Hollywood Blvd.
\nSuite 223
\n(inside the Kodak Theater complex at Hollywood & Highland)
\nHollywood, CA 90028<\/p>\n
\n8:00am \u02c6 9:00am Registration
\n9:00am \u02c6 3:00pm Auditions
\n3:00pm – 3:30pm Post Final 40
\n3:30pm \u02c6 4:30pm Final 40 – Final Audition for Scholarships
\n5:00pm \u02c6 6:00pm Stevie Wonder Scholarship Award Presentation\/Door Prizes <\/p>\n
\nHollywood Pop Academy.
\nOnly 300 contestants will be allowed to enter, on a first come,
\nfirst served basis.<\/p>\n
\nwww.hollywoodpopacademy.com
\ntraining facility for aspiring singers ages 7-25. HPA is the #1
\nforum for young talent to get exposure to the music industry’s
\nleading decision makers. In the renowned Kodak Theatre complex,
\nHPA has groomed three American Idol Top-Ten Finalists and led
\nsix students to sign with major record labels. HPA boasts state-
\nof-the art recording & production facilities and prime performance
\nvenues. <\/p>\n
\namong their current and former client rosters: Christina Aguilera,
\nJessica Simpson, JoJo, Adam Levine, Brian Mcknight, Janet Jackson,
\nthe cast of High School Musical and many more. <\/p>\n
\nand their signature ‘artist development.’ Hollywood Pop Academy
\nis a division of Los Angeles’ Campus Hollywood, the parent
\ncompany of Musician’s Institute, Theatre of Arts, & Elegance
\nMakeup. Hollywood Pop Academy is producing the most driven,
\ntalented, and desired up-and-coming artists of this generation.
\nHollywood Pop Academy. Who’s Next in Pop?<\/p>\n
\nfamous in 1942, when Stan Kenton hired him at the tender age
\nof 16 to be the lead trumpet in his band. As Buddy himself later
\ntold the story to Steve Voce: “At the rehearsal he sat me down in
\nthe first trumpet chair, had the first trumpet player sit out. I
\nplayed about eight or nine things in a row and the adrenalin was
\nreally flying that day. I was 16 I probably looked about 13, but I
\nplayed considerably more maturely than that. ‘Well, what do you
\nwant to do?’ he said after that was over. ‘I want to join your band.’
\n ‘But you’re so young.’ ‘I gotta join your band,’ I said. I had this
\nthing in my mind that I had to join a name band at 16 or I’d never
\nbe able to make it as a musician. I was thinking of Harry James so
\nyoung with Ben Pollack and then with Benny Goodman, and Corky
\nCorcoran who joined Sonny Dunham when he was 16 and then
\nbecame Harry James’s leading soloist the next year. So I made it
\nby three weeks. I only had a couple of months before I graduated
\nbut I wasn’t interested in that, I was only interested in playing.”
\nBuddy worked with Kenton for years, played with Tommy Dorsey,
\nWoody Herman, Les Brown, Charlie Barnet[1] and others. He
\nworked on TV and films, and put together a big band that
\nrecorded for Candid Records in the ’80s and ’90s. <\/p>\n
\nis sending in his bid to become AFM President. Next time we\u2019ll
\nshare some of his (Well, his writers) attacks, and some of what
\nTom Lee has said in response.<\/p>\n