After National Green Juice Day, the kids were happy that today, Jan. 27, was National Chocolate Cake Day.

I bought the ingredients for a chocolate cake and was going to make one from scratch. I wasn’t sure exactly when because one kid had a soccer game in the morning, we had a Havdalah gathering in the early evening and in between there was a songwriting gathering at a local library that I wanted to attend and the kids all had play dates.

Fortunately, at the Havdalah gathering, which was a potluck, one of the guests bought a chocolate cake so we each had  a piece.  The best part of it was that the people who brought the cake were friends of ours that we haven’t see in awhile.

Our Medley Moment

More on the songwriting gathering:

The songwriting gathering was hosted by the Arizona Songwriters Association, which is celebrating its 40th year.  If it wasn’t such a busy morning, I would have gotten there earlier, but I was able to make it to two sessions, both hosted by Fervor Records, which is a local record label. In the first session, David Hilker, founder/CEO of Fervor Records; Jeff Freundelich, COO of Fervor Records; and Jacob Nathan, creative director of A&R of Fervor Records and an independent music supervisor talked about music supervising and licensing. One subject that was brought up was that there are so many opportunities right now for songwriters because there is so much more content that needs music: streaming, film, TV, advertising. They also gave some feedback on how to pitch songs and how to get paid for songs. I’m not quite there yet, but it was great information.

The concluding part of the festival was an interview with the Pistoleros, a longtime Tempe band. The interview was with the two founding members, brothers Mark and Lawrence Zubia.

They talked about playing music with their father when they were young and played part of the first song they wrote together when they were in their teens. They also shared some songwriting tips: Use a guitar hook in the intro, three-word titles typically work best, inspiration can come from anywhere.

The Glendale Public Library, where the festival was held, is known for the peacocks that roam the property. As I was in my car ready to leave, I noticed one on the fence in front of me so I had to get out and take a picture.

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