Back home from the TAXI Road Rally, Part 4

Day Six

After getting about 3 hours of sleep, I woke up in time to make it to the Film & TV Pitch panel. As was the case with the other panels I went to, I heard some really good stuff, maybe one that was great, and a few that were just ok. I, along with the rest of the members from the panel I was on, received a nice compliment during this panel. One of the panelists commented on how many of the mixes seemed to be a bit bass-heavy. When he listened to songs on Friday, at first, he thought it was the sound system. But on this day, he said that he didn't think that was the case because he had sit in on the TAXI members panel session that I was on the day before and said that every single mix he heard in that class was clean and clear. That made me smile :-)

After that panel finished up I decided to do some networking and hang out with some friends and "family." I enjoyed some nice conversation time with Dean K., Mazz and one of my newest friends, Jeanna (who's trying to get me to switch to a Mac and Logic Pro... we'll see...). Next thing you know, it's lunch time.

A group of us decided to have lunch at the hotel restaurant. One of those happened to be my buddy Devin. As we were having lunch, Devin said he had a story for me. The story concludes with him giving me a gift. An official replica of the Canadian national team hockey jersey. Again, another humbling moment for me. Being a sports fan, I know the passion that goes with following one's team (by the way, college basketball is now officially underway... C-A-T-S! CATS! CATS! CATS! Go Big Blue!) so I can appreciate the depth of this gift. I've already thanked him in person, but I'll say it again. Thank you Devin, love you man!

While I was at lunch, a gentleman that was sitting behind us said hello and told me that next year, he wanted to be me. I spent a few minutes talking with him to find out that he used to play in some bands in the 70's and 80's. Though the name of the band escapes me, it was one that I was very familiar with. Once again, another humbling experience.

After finishing up lunch, it was time to head upstairs for the TAXI 5 Year Plan class that was being taught by Matt Hirt, Dave Walton and John Mazzei. All three of them are TAXI members, at different stages of their career, but all successful, and all very generous and approachable. I got a lot out of the class and it really helped to answer some questions I had.

The last panel was the Producers looking for Crushing Gray, I mean... looking for Hits panel :-) As was the case with all the other panels, some pretty good stuff but nothing that I would have taken out a 2nd mortgage on my house for. Just being honest. There was one track that was REALLY good, but the chorus just wasn't there.

After that panel wrapped up, a large group of us had dinner at the hotel. Had some great food and great conversations, one of which included many references to Lord of the Rings and Samwise Gamgee. I also had a chance to meet some more new friends, Jeffrey and Theresa (hope I'm spelling their names right) that night. And then came the process of having to say goodbye.

Some of us where staying around till the morning but leaving on an early flight, while others were leaving on a red-eye flight that night. It was really hard to say goodbye to a few folks as many of these friends are as close as family. It really is difficult to put into words just how close so many of us have become.

As surprising as this may seem, I'm sure that I'm leaving out some great stories (I can already think of some that involve David Trotter, Sherrill Blackman, Fett and Michael Laskow). To all of the people that I may have left out, it was not intentional. As you can see, there was quite a bit going on. I'm already going through Rally Withdrawal and can't wait to see everyone again.

I guess I'm going to wrap this up for now. I'm planning on posting some more thoughts about some of the things I learned while I was at the Rally in a day or two.

So there you have it... TAXI Road Rally 2009 through a pair of blue-tinted glasses :-)

Love you all!

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