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MERRY CHRISTMAS ANYWAY.

Merry Christmas all you Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, rich, poor,
and let's not leave out the fringe weirdos.
Merry Christmas I say,
to all humans, dogs, cats, and miscellaneous living items.

Christmas has been my favorite holiday my whole life,
and I want to share it with you.
You don't have to buy me anything.

Join me in toasting old Saint Nicholas,
if he will fit in our toaster. (Haha. I get jolly at Christmas.)

Cry with me at the ending of "It's a Wonderful Life".
Let's boo and hiss together at Old Mr. Potter.
We'll get sentimental listening to the Christmas carols at Walmart.
What time is Charlie Brown on?

Let's all pray for snow even if we're in Florida.

Enjoy new times with old friends.
If we don't have any friends, let's make some.
Find somebody who looks down in the dumps,
give them a big smile, and toss them a "Merry Christmas".
If they just look at you funny and walk away, so what?
There are other people waiting to be annoyed with our Christmas glee.

Think about your home town,
and try to recall the good times.
I think about Buffalo this time of year.
Not necessarily the real Buffalo,
but the one that only I remember.
That's where I got all my Christmas spirit to begin with,
shopping downtown... a lost art,
and trimming the scotch pine
with people we loved more than we knew at the time.

I laugh and cry a lot as Christmas approaches.
I even cry at commercials.
I laugh easily at funny remarks, especially mine.
It's embarrassing but I don't much care.
Ten minutes after the joke has slipped into the past,
I think about it and start laughing again.
Everybody tries not to notice,
and the more I try to stifle it, the more I laugh.
Tears come out of my eyes.
Christmas makes me weak.

So, whatever your religion or non-religion is, Merry Dang Christmas!
You don't have to go to church if you don't want to.
I probably won't, but I might watch Midnight Mass on television,
and I'm not even Catholic.
It's all part of the pageantry that is my holiday,
and I plan to eat too much, mellow out, and enjoy the feeling.

Call us on your holiday and we'll join you,
but listen...
What we're saying to you right now is this:
"Merry Christmas to all good people."

----------------------------------------------------------------- --------- Warning X Rated.....Party Songs

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Q.- What is your favorite part of being a music producer?

I like the early stages of putting the album (CD) together. Looking for the songs for the artist and trying to find a group of songs that will work together without a clash. I love finding a song that may be from a different musical genre and arrange it so it will fit comfortably with the artist I am working with. An example would be that I once rearranged an old Stephen Foster song to where it fit nicely in with an artist who was recording a country/western swing album. I have found another old song by the Electric Light Orchestra that I will hang on to until I find the right female country artist to record it. I always follow the rule that says "A hit song don't care who sings it." I think that reaching across genres and out of the established sources for material for a recording project helps me add something to an artist's album that other producers may miss. That being said you can't be odd just for the sake of being odd.

Q.- During a typical day, what does your schedule consist of?

If the day is typical or not the one thing that is always number one on your schedule is finding great songs. No matter what else you may be doing at the time you always have to be looking for songs. I remember talking to Garth Brooks before he ever had a record deal and he said he spent 90% of his time looking for songs. His theory was if you didn't find the right songs nothing else in your music career would matter and that if you did find the right songs then everything else would find a way of falling into place. That philosophy seemed to work out fine for Garth so I decided I would always use it. I have not had quite the degree of success that Garth has with his philosophy but it has kept me from digging ditches and flipping burgers.

Q.- What is your favorite/ least favorite part of being a music producer?

The one thing (least favorite) I hate most about this business is the fact that you just don't have the time to help people out who are trying to get started in this business as singers or songwriters. Every week I get material sent to me, unsolicited of course, where someone wants me to give them my opinion on their singing or songwriting. I hate to but I just delete all these E Mail attachments and throw away the CD's without ever listening. It took me a long time to figure out that as a record producer my job is to produce records. The only opinion that matters as to an artist or songwriter's talent, good or bad, is in the hands of the record buying public.

Q.- Do you enjoy the every day task of working with people?

I am not a "Do lunch" kind of guy. I like being around the people who are actually involved in the projects I am working on but I avoid all other musical social occasions like the plague. It probably costs me a lot of money but I go out of my way to not be in anyones "network" just for the sake of being in it. This is probably not the way to become a rich record producer but I decided a long time ago that I wasn't in it for the money so that gives me the freedom to only work on music projects that I really like.

Q.- What is the average salary of a music producer?

I think I know the answer to this question. I took out my calculator and came up with the average salary as ZERO ($0.00). I figure that you have a few dozen record producers making millions of dollars and a few thousand record producers losing millions of dollars so the average is probably right around zero.

Q.- Growing up, were you always interested in being involved in the music industry?

If not, how did you become interested?

I was always interested in music but as a performer I never had the ego or the talent to ever amount to much. I loved creative writing and had all my life so it seemed natural to get into songwriting. In Nashville I noticed a lot of songwriters naturally fell into that starving artist mentality and I knew that was not my cup of tea. To survive financially and be a part of what was going on musically me and my partner Craig Stahl built a small songwriter studio and started a fairly successful mailorder demo service to produce demos for people from outside Nashville so they could then pitch their songs to artists looking for songs to record. Some of these songs were decent but most of them were way below par but our job was to make the customer who was paying for our services happy so they would keep returning to do business with us. This little demo studio was where I developed whatever skills I may have as a record producer. You have heard of trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear ? I knew I was working under the handicap of not always having the greatest song to begin with so to compensate we hired the best demo singers we could afford and then started coming up with arrangments and instrumentation that would make our demos stand out from the crowd. This was like a crash course in record production even though I didn't realize it at the time.

Q.- What are the benefits of being a music producer?

There has never been a single day as a record producer that I dreaded going to work. I don't know anything that could be better than that.

Q.- What type of education did you receive or is required before becoming a music producer?

I graduated from Moyers, Oklahoma highschool in 1966 in a class of 13 seniors. I read every book I could get my hands on no matter what the subject and I just have a natural interest in what makes us all act the way we do.

I don't know that there are any requirments as far as education goes. If there is I am sure you can never get enough and I know that you never stop learning. The one thing you have to be able to do is see the big picture as they say. The great producers have the knack of not leaving an identifiable fingerprint on their work. All you remember about their work is the singer and the song.

Lonnie Ratliff

December 6th, 2008

REMEMBER YOU CAN ALWAYS CLICK ON ANY PHOTO IN THIS NEWSLETTER OR ANY UNDERLINED TEXT & IT WILL TAKE YOU TO A WEBSITE OR PLAY MUSIC MOST OF THE TIME SO DON'T FORGET TO "click away" SO YOU DON'T MISS ANYTHING - LONNIE

1. Cost for 5 songs is $3,750 (Three Thousand Seven Hundred & Fifty Dollars). This includes Studio, Musicians, Etc! and you end up with a mixed CD of your project. There are not a lot of hidden costs that will be tacked on. The only additional costs I can think of would be $150 if you want us to Master it for you before it goes to your pressing plant. (Call me and I can explain Mastering to you) The other thing that could cost you later is that you might have to pay songwriter royalties if you have recorded someone elses songs and are gonna include it on your CD to sell. (Example = If you want to record a George Strait song or a Taylor Swift song then you will have to pay a royalty to use that song) I can help point you in the right direction to obtain a license from the Harry Fox Agency.

2. For those artist who are new at this, Production is just about getting your songs recorded and ready to be made into CD's that you can sell. I don't press up the 500 or 1000 CD's for you but I can recommend Karen Bruno at Amazon Audio who can take care of everything for you. I believe it costs about $1500 for a 1000 CD's. A lot of the artists I produce will cut a couple of 5 song sessions with me and then put them together and press up a CD they can sell and get their money back.

3. First thing we need to do is figure out if we can work together and come up with something we can both be proud of. You can listen to the artists I have produced (Click Here) and get an idea of what I do. If you are a decent singer and I believe we can make a respectable recording then I will probably be glad to work with you.

4. Deposits & Payments: The first thing required is a $200 deposit and once that is paid we can start putting together your session. I will help you find the songs if needed and will arrange them for you using any ideas you may have. Once we find the songs and have picked a date you send me the balance of $3,550 at least 2 weeks before the session date and I book your session at a studio on Music Row. I normally use Dixiana Studio. We will cut the basic tracks and overdubs there and then cut the final vocals, harmonies and mix at Smokehouse studio.

5. The Band normally will consist of Bass, Drums, Rhythm Guitar, Piano, Steel Guitar, Fiddle, Dobro, Electric Guitar & Mandolin. If I believe a particular song calls for a specialty instrument I will use it and there is no additional charge. I do not try to cut corners by taking short cuts on the musicians we use.

6. Original songs. I have about 200 songs in my Music Publishing Company that you are welcome to use (Royalty Free) if you are using them on any project I produce.

7. Time it will take to record. Figure that it will take about 3 days in the studio. If you are on a tight schedule you're part will be over in two days. First day we cut the tracks with a scratch vocal and the second day you will sing your final vocals. I figure you will have up to 45 minutes to sing each song.

8. Practice Guitar tracks if needed. If you think you may have trouble singing any of the songs you pick and do not play an instrument I can record and send you an acoustic guitar track of the song so you can practice it before you come to Nashville.

9. Final thoughts. Keep in mind that you are hiring me to make you sound good and I take my job very seriously. I will do my best to see that you have a good time in the studio. I work with some of the best studio musicians in Nashville and they will do everything in their power to make the best recording of your music as possible. Feel free to E Mail any of the artists I have worked with (Click Here) before and ask them any questions you may have about working with me. Once you have paid your deposit I am on your team and you can call (615) 742 0666 and ask me any questions you have and I will try my best to give you an answer. Probably half of the artist I work with are recording their first CD and have a lot of questions so don't be embarrassed to ask about anything you don't understand.

I look forward to working with you and hope I can be a part of your musical future.

A PAIR OF CHRISTMAS SHOES.

A long time ago
Misty and I took a holiday season job in a Miami department store
in a poor neighborhood.

She was the photographer
who snapped and sold the pictures of the children on Santa's lap.
I was Santa.

The Santa suit and the whiskers were hot,
but it was an unforgettable experience.
Little poor kids would tell their dreams,
which I knew could not come true for them,
at least this year,
but they had faith in Santa
and even a "maybe" from me made their eyes sparkle.
Somehow, I felt guilty.

One little boy asked me how come Santa Claus is white.
I told him I hoped he wouldn't hold that against me,
and he assured me he wouldn't.

There were always a few raggedy strays
wandering around the toy department,
giggling and touching all the magical things
that would soon belong to someone else.

Some of them laughed and pointed at me,
but never came too close.
Others showed off to their pals by climbing right up on my lap,
like they weren't scared at all.

One little girl, dressed in filthy rags,
was too small to climb up on my knee,
so I lifted her up.
She weighed nothing.
I wondered if she was old enough to talk,
as she just smiled at me, wide-eyed.
Obviously, she was alone and uncared-for.
I asked her where her mommy and daddy were
and she said, "Drunk".
Then she confessed her true love for me.
I asked her what she really wanted most for Christmas,
and she lisped, "New shoes".
She wasn't wearing any this winter.

"Merry Christmas! Ho-Ho -Ho", I choked,
as she climbed down to be replaced by the next in line.
When business tapered off I searched the whole store for the little girl,
to buy her a pair of new shoes.
I was too late.
She had disappeared and I never saw her again,
except in my mind every Christmas.

Special "Thank you" to the DJ's that support these artists who take the time

Nashville Showcase Promotions

Release your music to radio worldwide

1 song = $300

Do you have a song you would like to have released and promoted to radio ?

Maybe a song off your last CD that you think might be a hit or just might get fans interested in your music. Maybe a song you wrote that you think some major artist might cover if you had it out there where someone could hear it or even a novelty song that people would love if just given a chance to hear it.

My package includes a worldwide release to 600 + radio stations on the Western Heart Promotions compilation CD. Your song will be mailed to stations in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Poland, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, United Kingdom, and many others as well as to Internet Radio Stations.

I will furnish you with Playlists from the overseas radio stations that play your song along with any comments from DJ's concerning your music.

Promotion will last for 1 month from the date of the first radio airplay of your song.

You can either send me a CD of your song or E Mail me an MP3 file of the song.

You can charge to your credit card through PayPal or send me a check or M.O.

If you are interested and need further information contact me at:

Phone Lonnie Ratliff at: (615) 742 0666

E Mail = NashvilleShowcase@comcast.net

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NOTE from Lonnie - I always feel a little guilty because I never have time to listen to mp3's new artists and songwriters send me, unsolicited I might add. I hate it but I just delete them because I finally figured out I could try to be a nice guy or I could try to work and pay my bills. My banker had a very stern suggestion that I needed to keep working and be a nice guy on my own time after all my bills were paid. Turns out that spare time does not exist so I just had to give up on listening to unsolicited mp3's, CD's and giving my opinions and suggestions. Now I just concentrate on my music business out of necessity but I figure I can give you some links that will answer your questions better than I could anyway.

Here's some books available this week on EBAY

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Lonnie Ratliff Updates

A quick rundown of what some of our subscribers are up to

"Click" on PHOTOS below for Websites

Didn't get enough Updates from SUBSCRIBERS for this section. Will reinstate it after the 1st. of the year when artists are finished with the holiday stuff - If you have time go ahead and E Mail me your Update with a LINK to your website if you want it included and I will include you when we start the UPDATE SECTION back up. My file for this section is completely empty right now so be one of the first to start 2009 out with your UPDATE.

E Mail to: NashvilleShowcase@comcast.net

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Below are some of the artists I have produced so you can give them a listen to see if you like the sound I am getting and you can contact them to get a reference on how they liked working with me. No matter if you choose to have me or someone else produce your next recording project make sure you check us out. If you can't hear samples of a producer's previous work or correspond with someone who has worked with them then it is too early to be writing anyone a check. Just because someone sends you an e mail telling you they think you are the hottest thing since Garth Brooks or Shania Twain doesn't mean they are a good honest producer. Check everyone out that you do business with BEFORE you write the check and you won't end up being one of those artists that gets scammed. - Lonnie _ E Mail me at: NashvilleShowcase@comcast.net

Erin Hay

Click Photo

Bengt Pedersen (Norway)

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Joni Compretta
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Dick Damron

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Timmy G

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Peggy Lynn

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B. Thomas (Norway)
.

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Susie Hopman

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Mike Anderson

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Dani Ashworth

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Tim Chesney
.

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Hearts In Harmony

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THORNBIRDS

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Ken Johnson

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Britni Hendrickson
.

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Brent McAthey

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Ron Wayne Atwood

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Eric Richards

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Ernie Ashworth
Erin Hay / Duet

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Kenny Chesney
Demo

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Tara Lyn Hart Demo
Sony Records
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Garth Brooks Demo

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Shawn Camp
Demo

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Jack Greene
Erin Hay / Duet

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Gina Michaells (Norway)

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Shady Creek Outlaws

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Big B (Norway)
.

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Lynn Chisholm

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Lonnie's "Spotlight Songs"

"Making Plans "

Perley Curtis & Erin Hay

Making Plans - Perley Curtis & Erin Hay
lo-fi URL: http://www.soundclick.com/util/streamm3u.m3u?id=6888604&q=lo

hi-fi URL: http://www.soundclick.com/util/streamm3u.m3u?id=6888604&q=hi

If the above Links will not play try this one: http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6888604

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"When It's Too Country For Everyone Else, It's Just Right For Me"

Erin Hay

THE COLLECTION "Click" Photo to purchase Erin's CD's THE CIRCLE

"Click" Yellow Button below to play

Lo-Fi Samples from THE CIRCLE CD

Lo-Fi Music Samples from this 23 song CD

"click" on EBAY Logo below

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Buying a house in Nashville ?

If you are thinking of moving to Nashville and need to buy a house I recommend you get in touch with my buddy Craig Stahl.

Some of you will know Craig from his 13 years working with Alan Jackson and also as my partner in Okie Acres Music & Studio.

Give him a call when you need property in Nashville or sign up for his Newsletter

I hope you enjoyed our first issue of Roadie Real Estate.com. Please email me your thoughts and suggestions. If you liked it

please hit the forward e-mail button at the bottom of the page. Please visit my website at www.RoadieRealEstate.com I would love t

o help you buy or sell your next home or help you with any of your Real Estate needs. If you are not moving anytime soon,

please keep me in mind to be of service to friends and family. I really appreciate your referals.

Craig Stahl "The Roadie Realtor"

615-578-9175

rocksolidproperties@gmail.com

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Dixon DeVore http://cdbaby.com/all/devore

Imprinters To The Stars Since 1985

Since 1985, we have been imprinting and/or embroidering apparel, pens, cups, keytags, mugs, Tote Bags, Equipment Stickers, CD Carrying cases and thousands of other products for Bands, Artists DJs and Promoters. We have our own in-house art department and can take the simplest idea and morph it into aneffective, multi-color design. You'll wow 'em in Vegas!
We know The Music Business.

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Artists release your songs worldwide on
Gary Bradshaw's WHP Compilation.

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Artists if you need a little help getting your latest record off the DJ's desk and
on to their turntable you might want to contact Sherry.
She speaks the DJ's language fluently.

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Artists looking for someone to help you with your CD Cover artwork, printing and pressing your CD ? Check with Karen Bruno at Amazon Audio

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