I am a member of an online street team through Isquad. I know, it sounds like an admission at an addicts meeting. And in nature, I guess it is for addicts of music. An i-Squad is a virtual 'Street Team' that provides a means for fans who are interested in sharing information, news, previews, and a whole lot more with other fans. As a member one receives breaking news, sneak previews, the ability to interact with other Fans & the i-Squad leader, Some very cool, very exclusive Prizes & Rewards -- that are only made available to members.Points you accumulate by helping out get you Entry into exclusive Contests, Sweepstakes and a whole lot more.The more you help Spread-the-Word, the more Points you'll accumulate, that you can then trade in for Rewards in the exclusive members only online store. It costs absolutely nothing to Join, except a little of your time.I enjoy it! My friends give me a hard time about it, but they also always ask me how I get to do the things I do. Through I-Squad I have won some very cool stuff such as free merchandise (t-shirts, cd's, etc.) but most notably I have gotten person invitations to attend artist events, such as the CD release party of the band Sugarland at the Nashville Fair Grounds, in which they performed, entry tickets to attend a private party for Joe Nichols street team (which he attended), and my personal favorite...I received 2 tickets to attend an invitation only taping of a TV special by Faith Hill that was broadcast on NBC during Thanksgiving. That one was particularly fun because it was an invitation only event, most of the people there were "somebody" (stars, record producers, writers, family members and close friends). I invited my friend Janet to come along with me. The special featured writers of Faith's songs (she doesn't write her own songs) and she and the writer would perform the song together.
It was a small crowd of about 200 people, that was conducive of being able to schmooze and converse with the likes of Faith, Tim McGraw and their 3 lovely children, Lori McKenna, The Warren Brothers, and John Rich, among others. I did manage to talk to Faith and Tim, who were both very gracious and eager to answer any questions. I like to think that I am an amateur songwriter myself and I was very interested to speak with both Faith and McKenna. I asked Faith about her feelings for recording others material, if it brings more pressure or less because it isn't her own. Faith said she does feel pressure to make the song be what the writer intended. She said that sometimes she invited the writer into the studio either during the recording precess, but typically after to allow them to hear the finished product. "I want them to be happy and it does make me nervous", she admitted. I asked McKenna what it was like giving away "her baby" as in her songs to someone else to record and what if she doesn't like the artist rendering. McKenna answered with a safe statement, "I have always been happy to have my songs recorded. God Bless Faith and Tim for believing in me".
The concert was wonderful. Faith explained how she received each song her feelings about them and cute little stories relating to each. She was a wonderful a singer as she sounds on the radio and equally as gorgeous! The person that I was most taken with that evening was Brad Warren of the Warren Brothers. Brad was kind enough to spend a great deal of time with me, answering my questions, laughing and joking, even wandering elsewhere only to show back up for more fun and laughs. He was so gracious, even going so far as to hunt down a sharpie and walk with me to Faith to get her to sign a wine bottle. Taping for the special lasted 5 HOURS!! so to keep her guest enthused (and the natives from getting restless) Faith had sent around bottles of wine to the crowd. I took one of the bottles and got both she and Tim to sign it as well as both Bret and Brad Warren. Brad Warren was the most down to earth individual, even introducing me to people. I was taken as his genuineness, humbleness and kind character.My only regret that evening, that there were no cameras allowed, because of the television taping, so I got no pictures....but I did get a signed bottle of wine!
If you are interested in joining an I-Squad, Click on the link below to Join (or cut & paste the link into your browser) - and become a part of true fan driven promotion.
*These are just a few of the artist whose squad you can join. There are many to choose from, from big selection of music.
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