Songwriter Associations for Alabama, Alaska, Arizona & Arkansas

Alabama

Alabama Songwriters Guild. Contact Dennis Kahler at 256-352-4873. P.O. Box 272, Garden City, AL, 35070. e-mail: [email protected]. This guild helps link and songwriters throughout Alabama. Coordinator Dennis Kahler stays in close contact with about 150 songwriters (who write all types of music), keeping them updated on various writer/musician activities. The guild is involved with the annual Songwriters Festival held in the Gulf Shores/Pensacola area every November. They also network with the NSAI associations in Birmingham/Hoover and Mobile.

NSAI Montgomery Workshop. Coordinator: Tucker Bouler, 334-221-5662. e-mail: [email protected]. This songwriters group meets once a month on Sunday afternoons. The meetings consist of lessons for songwriting as well as the group helping out each other by critiquing each other’s songs. The group also is a resource for writers who want to learn to cowrite, plug their own songs, and know the ins and outs of the music business. Website

The Muscle Shoals Songwriters Workshop (NSAI). Coordinator: Tom Pepper. e-mail: [email protected]. This association (which is an affiliated group of writers) hosts monthly meetings, has a bi-monthly newsletter, sponsors a songwriters showcase that is broadcast live on the net, and has an annual symposium which features top writers, producers, publishers, A&R execs and managers.

Andalusia, Opp & Dothan Alabama NSAI Chapter. Coordinators: Dianne Newton (in Dothan) at 334-493-0067 or Kimberly Hall (in Opp) at 334-792-9569. This group holds a regular meeting the last Thursday of every month, helping to further the craft of songwriting. They invite new members to join in the fun.

Alaska

Alaska Songwriters Association. Contact Jim Helfinstine (director/coordinator) at: 907-789-0613. P.O. Box 33552, Juneau, Alaska, 99803. e-mail: [email protected]. This organization was started 17 years ago, and it remains dedicated towards assisting songwriters in this large, spread-out state. Members meet fairly regularly in Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks. Despite its distance from Los Angeles, this association has successfully maintained a connection with the music industry. Representatives from ASCAP and BMI, as well as other industry pros, have visited Alaska to be guest speakers at the group’s meetings.

Arizona

Arizona Songwriters Association (ASA). President: John Iger. 602-973-1988. P.O. Box 678. Phoenix, AZ, 85001. This organization has about 300 members who write all styles of music. ASA holds a monthly, main meeting, which features a song critique with a guest publisher or A&R exec. This meeting is held the fourth Saturday of the month at Denny’s meeting room (48th St. & University in Tempe). There is also a monthly song workshop, where writers can perfrom their works-in-progress and receive feedback.

Arkansas

Arkansas Songwriters Association. Contact Peggy Vining at 501-565-8889. 6817 Gingerbread Lane, Little Rock, AR, 72204. e-mail: [email protected]. This organization is currently inactive, but any interested parties can contact former President Peggy Vining for information and networking.