Clara Hall, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada – October 1, 2011. From left:
• Cousin Vinny (Virgin Radio 96 FM, Montreal).
• David Martel (Songwriter from Montreal).
• Mary Simon (Singer-Songwriter, New Songwriters’ Workshop Coordinator).
• Dan Hill (“Sometimes When We Touch”).
• Jodie Ferneyhough (Universal Music Publishing Group).
The demo review session lasted for about one and a half hour, due to limited time each song was played until the end of the first chorus, my song “Can’t See Myself” was played second to last, and here’s what happened.
Cousin Vinny : My first impression was the Casio keyboard sounding quality…
Mary Simon : I had one of those in my early years.
Cousin Vinny : …other than that the song has a strong build up to the chorus.
Dan Hill : I find his accent to be unique and could do well in the Asian market.
Jodie Ferneyhough : Perhaps also the Euro market too…
Unknown from panel : Euro is big!
Jodie Ferneyhough : …well…Germany.
Unknown from panel : Well done, a round of applause for Wing.
…later at the end of the workshop - Dan Hill : Good chorus!
Wing Yee and Dan Hill.
Comment : I respect the fact that time was limited due to the large volume of submissions but playing a demo until the end of the first chorus does not reveal the entire structure of a song. True or not, I have no problem with the Casio keyboard sounding comment I can always do a remix. But other than that in my case it was more like an Asian artist / marketing review being cut short instead of a song critique session. And if my accent is unique then it’s exclusive to me of whom no one can duplicate. Isn’t that a good thing in pop music culture?
Have a listen and be your own judge: Can’t See Myself
CORRECTION (October 7, 2011)
Mary Simon : It was David Martel who said the Casio keyboard comment and not Cousin Vinny.
Special thanks to Cousin Vinny and Mary Simon for providing me with the missing panelist’s name.